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

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

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.75. 1,061,498 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $40.39 and a 52-week high of $148.56. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $120.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 5,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.00, for a total value of $519,894.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,666,076. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,700. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,148 shares of company stock valued at $5,853,826 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,715,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,966,000 after acquiring an additional 29,362 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company's stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company's stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,107,000 after purchasing an additional 973,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company's stock worth $96,080,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares during the period.

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.