Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to "Buy" Rating

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

SFM has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $163.30 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $150.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.50. The company has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.43, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12-month low of $64.02 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.36, for a total value of $435,384.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,276,088.40. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total transaction of $1,614,935.79. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,968,762.75. The trade was a 16.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company's stock worth $3,642,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during 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 increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during 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.

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