Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $135.83 and last traded at $135.80, with a volume of 248671 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SFM

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

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 50-day moving average price of $110.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joel D. Anderson sold 20,851 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.16, for a total value of $2,005,032.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,673.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,700. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joel D. Anderson sold 20,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.16, for a total value of $2,005,032.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,808,673.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,829 shares of company stock worth $5,206,068. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,715,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,966,000 after purchasing an additional 29,362 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,138,000 after purchasing an additional 28,636 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading