Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM Stock: Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Raises Holdings

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group increased its Sprouts Farmers Market holdings 310.6% in the third quarter, ending the period with 47,681 shares worth about $3.16 million. Other institutional investors also reported buying or adding to their positions.
• Analyst views are mixed: six rate the stock Buy, seven Hold and three Sell, for an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $64.77. Recent firms cut price targets, including Bank of America, which downgraded the stock to Underperform.
• Sprouts shares opened at $49.10, near their 12-month low of $47.35. Latest quarterly results slightly missed earnings and revenue estimates, though revenue rose 4.7% year over year.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 310.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,681 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,068 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter worth about $768,171,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at $131,310,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,464,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,826,000 after acquiring an additional 111,574 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $93,790,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 855,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,995,000 after purchasing an additional 22,863 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut Sprouts Farmers Market from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.14, for a total transaction of $584,062.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,616,717.20. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph O'Leary sold 2,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total transaction of $214,434.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,214,604.70. This trade represents a 15.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 46,041 shares of company stock worth $3,108,047 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $49.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.76. The business's 50 day moving average is $66.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.35 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.01). Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 5.45%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc NASDAQ: SFM is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Its stores offer a broad selection of fresh produce, meat and seafood, dairy products, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, pantry staples, bakery items, deli products and prepared foods. The company emphasizes products that support healthy eating, including organic, plant-based and specialty-diet options.

Founded in 2002, Sprouts Farmers Market grew from its first store in Chandler, Arizona, into a national grocery chain.

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