Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $118.40.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $131.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.21. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $47.63 and a 1-year high of $155.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a PE ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,718,959.64. This trade represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,569 shares of company stock worth $9,117,886 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.