Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.9 %

SFM opened at $151.97 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market has a twelve month low of $41.27 and a twelve month high of $154.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total transaction of $104,625.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,513.60. This represents a 3.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,463,777.60. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,516 shares of company stock valued at $4,465,466. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 6,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,138,000 after purchasing 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.