Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM is Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.'s 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 34.5%, selling nearly 100,000 shares, but the company remains a significant 5th holding within their investment portfolio.
• The company reported earnings of $1.35 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieving a 17.3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Sprouts Farmers Market, with notable increases including a 92.0% raise by Whipplewood Advisors during the first quarter.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 34.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,863 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,874 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for about 1.9% of Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.19% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $28,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 901,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,509,000 after buying an additional 123,247 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,703 shares of the company's stock worth $13,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,815 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 379,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,259,000 after purchasing an additional 34,436 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 100,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,728,000 after purchasing an additional 24,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $793,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SFM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.73.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 2.4%

SFM traded down $3.35 on Tuesday, reaching $136.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,711,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,769. The business's 50-day moving average price is $152.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.69. The company has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.86. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.56 and a 12-month high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%.The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 346 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.15, for a total value of $48,491.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,392.35. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.60, for a total transaction of $560,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,218,964. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,083 shares of company stock valued at $6,002,515 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.