Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Key Points

Error: Response status code does not indicate success: 429 (Too Many Requests).

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a $185.00 target price on the stock. Barclays's target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.81% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $196.00 to $182.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.07.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 5.5%

NASDAQ SFM traded down $8.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $149.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,117,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,799. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $164.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.12. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $91.36 and a 52-week high of $182.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,380,367. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. This represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in 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 during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $270,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,618,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 100,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,728,000 after purchasing an additional 24,364 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.