Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Raised to "Buy" at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Sprouts Farmers Market has been upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a new price target of $190, indicating a potential upside of 25.38% from its current stock price.
• The company reported earnings of $1.35 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.12, and achieved a year-over-year revenue growth of 17.3% with a total revenue of $2.22 billion.
• Multiple analysts have shown positive sentiment towards the stock, with eight analysts rating it as a "buy" and the consensus price target standing at $171.53.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.38% from the company's current price.

SFM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased 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. Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.53.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $151.54 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $163.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.20. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $91.36 and a one year high of $182.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total value of $2,851,131.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. This represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total value of $333,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,696,065.36. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,743 shares of company stock valued at $10,769,633 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 244 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.