Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research 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 brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.40.

SFM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,262.40. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,516 shares of company stock worth $4,465,466 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFM. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 464,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,551,000 after purchasing an additional 95,144 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,942,000 after buying an additional 3,372 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $155,000. Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,348,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM opened at $151.97 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $41.27 and a 12-month high of $154.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $124.34 and a 200-day moving average of $100.64. The stock has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.