Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday.

SFM has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $160.15. 1,270,951 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,422,890. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1 year low of $62.72 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $122,303.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,284,464.74. This trade represents a 8.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $40,295.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 6,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $868,509.47. The trade was a 4.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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.