Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Trading Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)’s stock price was up 3.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $170.95 and last traded at $170.33. Approximately 633,993 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 1,440,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 45.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,277 shares of company stock valued at $18,912,055. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in 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 period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period.

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.