Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $4.30 Million in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 139,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,296,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Sprout Social at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Sprout Social by 2,392.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Sprout Social by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC bought a new stake in Sprout Social during the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Sprout Social by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Sprout Social during the fourth quarter valued at about $304,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sprout Social from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Sprout Social from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $97,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $498,414.30. This represents a 16.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $799,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,265.83. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,446 shares of company stock worth $2,644,639. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPT traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.90. The stock had a trading volume of 620,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,115. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.52 and a 12-month high of $39.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.78.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. The firm had revenue of $109.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.63 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Sprout Social

Sprout Social, Inc designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action.