Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM Shares Bought by Empirical Finance LLC

Key Points

• Empirical Finance LLC massively increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, boosting its holdings by 2,005.7% in the first quarter to 105,287 shares worth about $8.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating on SFM, with a consensus price target of $96.62 despite some firms maintaining bullish calls.
• Sprouts reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.71 and revenue of $2.33 billion, and it also guided for FY2026 EPS of 5.32 to 5.48.

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2,005.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,287 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,287 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC owned about 0.11% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $8,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SFM. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.6% in the second quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the company's stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SFM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.62.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.9%

SFM opened at $74.89 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $64.75 and a one year high of $165.97. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $82.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.06% and a net margin of 5.70%.The business's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.320-5.480 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.320-1.360 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,790 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.04, for a total transaction of $885,211.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 269,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,149,159.20. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.04, for a total transaction of $33,308.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $557,954.04. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,310 shares of company stock worth $3,873,881. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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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