Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 15,557 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1%, owning approximately 0.41% of the company, valued at around $60.6 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target for Sprouts Farmers Market at $167.27, with several institutions issuing ratings ranging from "hold" to "outperform".
• Sprouts Farmers Market recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and highlighting an 18.7% revenue increase year-over-year.

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 396,725 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,557 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $60,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after buying an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,113,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $53,946,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 18,234.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 358,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,683,000 after purchasing an additional 356,292 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total value of $650,464.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,037,033. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $9,325,562.50. This trade represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,743 shares of company stock worth $10,769,633. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $154.08. 2,044,681 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,679. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.36 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $163.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.77%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 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.