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

StockNews.com cut shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFM traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $146.07. 1,496,331 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,335,961. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $114.70 and its 200-day moving average is $94.92. The stock has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $40.39 and a 1-year high of $148.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total transaction of $48,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,700. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $149,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth $512,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 17.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,557 shares of the company's stock worth $3,043,000 after buying an additional 4,171 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 249,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,593,000 after purchasing an additional 144,761 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 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.