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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.00.

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Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.2 %

SFM stock traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $157.27. 1,407,552 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,417,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market has a fifty-two week low of $61.61 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.07. The company has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $1,614,935.79. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,968,762.75. This trade represents a 16.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,699 shares of company stock valued at $13,969,851. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 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.