Brokerages Set Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) PT at $96.56

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.22.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $102.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,262.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,262.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total transaction of $577,628.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,485,650.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 123,221 shares of company stock valued at $12,130,609 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $1,378,000. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $349,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.5% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 616,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,748,000 after buying an additional 48,225 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,538,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,013,000 after buying an additional 1,237,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 78.8% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $104.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $39.50 and a 52-week high of $107.90.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.