Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,783 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,191 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $9,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 83,859.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 32,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,391,000 after buying an additional 32,705 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,580,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $727,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,128,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $8,341,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.95, for a total value of $1,000,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,271,693.55. This trade represents a 30.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 651 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total value of $92,168.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,590,651.30. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 21,447 shares of company stock valued at $2,800,812 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $124.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.86.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $81.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.14. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.75 and a twelve month high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.93% and a return on equity of 38.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.240-5.280 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.860-0.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 19th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.