Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $138.07 on Wednesday. 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 $141.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.46. The company has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $48.98 and a one year high of $155.64.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. The trade was a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total transaction of $757,676.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,576 shares in the company, valued at $26,463,777.60. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,934 shares of company stock worth $8,370,950 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.