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

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $160.27 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.51 and its 200 day moving average is $141.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.63, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market has a twelve month low of $61.61 and a twelve month high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.36, for a total transaction of $435,384.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,315 shares in the company, valued at $28,276,088.40. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.34, for a total transaction of $302,680.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.42. The trade was a 13.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,322,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after purchasing an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,199,000 after purchasing an additional 160,882 shares in the last quarter.

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.