Analysts Set Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Price Target at $167.00

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $167.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. The trade was a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 128.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 199,035 shares of the company's stock worth $21,975,000 after purchasing an additional 111,838 shares in the last quarter. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,022,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,348,000. Sfmg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $155,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,465,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,340. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12 month low of $64.02 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $149.71 and its 200 day moving average is $145.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.