Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Upgraded 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 stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $190.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 26.48% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $3.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $150.22. 892,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,743,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $163.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.67. Sprouts Farmers Market has a twelve month low of $93.42 and a twelve month high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.94, for a total value of $659,092.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at $28,472,135.60. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,241.68. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 65,743 shares of company stock valued at $10,769,633. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unified Investment Management increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the second quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 7,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.6% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the second quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 3,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during 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.