Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $167.79.

Several equities analysts have commented on SFM shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 126,362 shares of company stock valued at $18,430,847 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $164.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52 week low of $74.15 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm's 50 day moving average is $157.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.31.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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