Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.15.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SFM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $136.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.96. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $60.46 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total value of $794,188.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 158,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,980,990.52. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,564 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,770. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period.

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.