Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $173.00 price target on the stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.44% from the stock's current price.

SFM has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $173.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $165.65 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $164.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.10. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1 year low of $81.93 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total transaction of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,437,241.68. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $36,000.

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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