Hancock Whitney Corp Increases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,138 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 851 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp owned approximately 0.19% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $16,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total value of $476,433.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 245,288 shares in the company, valued at $20,452,113.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total transaction of $668,465.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,462,030.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total transaction of $476,433.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,452,113.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 123,221 shares of company stock worth $12,130,609. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $105.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.50 and a 52-week high of $107.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 27.53% and a net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.22.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.