Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $0.71 on Tuesday, hitting $160.15. 1,270,951 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,424,346. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.85 and a 200 day moving average of $142.82. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12 month low of $64.02 and a 12 month high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,348,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock worth $23,046,000 after purchasing an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter.

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.