Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Sell (D-)" Rating for Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Sell (D-)" rating for Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG), indicating ongoing concerns about the company's financial performance.
• Recent target price reductions from various analysts, including a drop by Piper Sandler from $20.00 to $12.00 and Bank of America from $18.00 to $9.50, reflect a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $15.04.
• Sweetgreen reported a quarterly loss of ($0.20) earnings per share, missing estimates and representing a negative return on equity of 22.21%, highlighting financial difficulties.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SG. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Sweetgreen from $20.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.50 target price (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday, October 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $8.00 target price on Sweetgreen in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sweetgreen from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.04.

Sweetgreen Trading Down 0.8%

SG stock opened at $7.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.64. The stock has a market cap of $872.39 million, a PE ratio of -8.79 and a beta of 1.97. Sweetgreen has a 1 year low of $7.23 and a 1 year high of $45.12.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $185.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.47 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 22.21% and a negative net margin of 14.29%.Sweetgreen's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. Sweetgreen has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sweetgreen will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sweetgreen

In other news, CFO Mitch Reback sold 11,530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total value of $105,960.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 322,891 shares in the company, valued at $2,967,368.29. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 19.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SG. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 11,707,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,911,000 after purchasing an additional 386,141 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,762,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,094 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 4,525,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,176 shares during the last quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 3,899,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,029,000 after purchasing an additional 513,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,567,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the company's stock.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

Sweetgreen, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates fast food restaurants serving healthy foods at scale in the United States. The company also accepts orders through its online and mobile ordering platforms, as well as sells gift cards that do not have an expiration date and can be redeemed. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

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