StockNews.com Upgrades Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) to Buy

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

SFM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $136.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market has a fifty-two week low of $39.98 and a fifty-two week high of $136.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joel D. Anderson sold 20,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.16, for a total value of $2,005,032.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,808,673.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joel D. Anderson sold 20,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.16, for a total transaction of $2,005,032.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,673.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,999 shares of company stock worth $8,148,868 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,715,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,966,000 after buying an additional 29,362 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after buying an additional 593,600 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,107,000 after buying an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,138,000 after acquiring an additional 28,636 shares in the last quarter.

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.