Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $180.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $175.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SFM. UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $151.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $94.15 and a 1-year high of $182.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.54 and a 200 day moving average of $158.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total transaction of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,180,171.94. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,325,562.50. This represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,511,003. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,481,000 after buying an additional 15,930 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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.