Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 91,945 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market worth approximately $7.8 million, representing about 0.10% of the company. Other major investors, including BlackRock and Norges Bank, also initiated or increased positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “overweight” with a $103 target, while others maintained neutral or hold ratings. The consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $91.58.
• Sprouts exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.37 in EPS and $2.33 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 4.7% year over year. The stock opened at $81.46, well below its 52-week high of $141.78.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 91,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,777,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $768,171,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $161,398,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $121,906,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth $131,310,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,584,923 shares of the company's stock worth $425,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,014 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.58.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock opened at $81.46 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.75 and a fifty-two week high of $141.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.68.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.84% and a net margin of 5.58%.The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.320-5.400 EPS. Analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 2,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total transaction of $214,434.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,214,604.70. This represents a 15.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.04, for a total transaction of $885,211.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,149,159.20. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 58,289 shares of company stock valued at $4,991,405 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc NASDAQ: SFM is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company operates stores designed to offer an open-market shopping experience, emphasizing quality produce sourced from regional farmers alongside organic pantry staples, dairy, meat and seafood. Sprouts' product assortment also includes bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, a deli and prepared foods, reflecting its commitment to wellness and affordable healthy living.

Founded in 2002 by members of the Boney family, Sprouts began as a single farmers market in Chandler, Arizona.

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