Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.14.

A number of brokerages have commented on SFM. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $1,367,484.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at $499,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $26,049.99. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,377.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $62.29 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.36 and its 200 day moving average is $50.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50. Sprouts Farmers Market has a fifty-two week low of $32.12 and a fifty-two week high of $65.53.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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.