Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Rating) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.57.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. MKM Partners downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $34.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 9th. Credit Suisse Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Northcoast Research downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.09, for a total value of $170,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,150 shares in the company, valued at $959,633.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.09, for a total value of $170,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,150 shares in the company, valued at $959,633.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 85,953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total value of $2,902,632.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,011,935.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 120,688 shares of company stock worth $4,049,303. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,321 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $633,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 10,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.6 %

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $31.20 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.88 and a 200 day moving average of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.44. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12-month low of $22.56 and a 12-month high of $35.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 25.06%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc offers fresh, natural, and organic food products in the United States. The company offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat, 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.