Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $13.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Sweetgreen traded as high as $11.96 and last traded at $11.7690, with a volume of 1,161,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.55.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on SG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Sweetgreen from $6.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $8.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Sweetgreen from $7.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Sweetgreen from $8.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jamie McConnell sold 15,033 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total transaction of $93,354.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 210,489 shares in the company, valued at $1,307,136.69. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Jason Miles Cochran sold 4,809 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total transaction of $29,863.89. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 207,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,941.96. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 18.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Sweetgreen

Here are the key news stories impacting Sweetgreen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $14 from $11 and reiterated an Overweight rating, signaling a more bullish view of Sweetgreen’s prospects. Wells Fargo rating
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue increased 2.1% year over year to $176 million, beating analysts’ roughly $170 million estimate. Zacks also reported an adjusted loss per share narrower than expected, while the loss improved from a year earlier. Q3 financial results Zacks Q3 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Same-store sales declined 6.4%, an improvement from the 9.5% drop a year earlier. The milder decline suggests a recovery following the Cyclospora outbreak, although sales have not yet returned to growth. Same-store sales and outbreak recovery
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen lifted its target to $11 from $9 but kept a Hold rating; its new target is below the cited share price. This cautious stance, alongside ongoing same-store sales declines and modest revenue growth, tempers the positive earnings signals. TD Cowen rating

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 5,967.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 13,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 13,665 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 175.2% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the third quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Sweetgreen by 7.3% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sweetgreen Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 118.06 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.83 and a 200-day moving average of $7.28.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.26). The business had revenue of $176.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.07 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 2.01%. Sweetgreen’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

About Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen, Inc operates a fast-casual restaurant company focused on fresh, customizable meals. Its menu includes salads, grain bowls, protein plates, sides, and beverages made with seasonal produce and other ingredients. Customers can order in restaurants or through Sweetgreen’s website and mobile application, with options for pickup and delivery.

Founded in 2007 by Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru, Sweetgreen began as a single restaurant in Washington, DC The company has expanded its restaurant network across metropolitan areas in the United States, with locations concentrated in major markets on the East and West coasts and in other regions.