By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.00.
A number of research firms recently commented on SFM. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SFM
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares in the company, valued at $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,264 shares of company stock worth $6,995,193. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter.
Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance
Shares of SFM opened at $132.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $150.28 and its 200-day moving average is $133.42. Sprouts Farmers Market has a fifty-two week low of $60.46 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59.
Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS 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.
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