Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on SFM. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $147.76 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.21. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52 week low of $61.61 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 17.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,171 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $149,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $233,000.

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.