StockNews.com Upgrades Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on SFM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a neutral rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $33.75.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $36.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.39. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12-month low of $24.67 and a 12-month high of $39.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.36.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.83%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 61,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $2,252,790.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,695.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 61,788 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total transaction of $2,252,790.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,695.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence Molloy sold 1,159 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.13, for a total value of $38,397.67. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 240,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,980,718.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 280,782 shares of company stock worth $9,677,615. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.2% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,589,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,084,000 after purchasing an additional 624,365 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,017,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,344,000 after acquiring an additional 57,361 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,898,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,629,000 after acquiring an additional 128,000 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,222,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,912,000 after purchasing an additional 67,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,854,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,021,000 after purchasing an additional 112,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc engages in the operation of healthy grocery stores. The firm specializes in fresh, natural and organic products. Its products include fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, grocery, meat and seafood, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, body care and natural household items.