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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about 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 objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM opened at $154.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $127.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.07. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12-month low of $41.27 and a 12-month high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. This trade represents a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. The trade was a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,516 shares of company stock worth $4,465,466 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SFM. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at $370,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $736,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 505.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 43,990 shares during 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.