Royal Bank of Canada Begins Coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM)

Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SFM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $96.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.73. 894,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,349,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.03. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $39.24 and a one year high of $104.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.68. The company has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $5,680,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $192,532.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,165.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $5,680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 128,939 shares of company stock worth $12,571,295. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 442 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.