Baird Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.1% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $137.72 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $151.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.50. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.59 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 19th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.73.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 2,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $440,755.59. Following the sale, the director owned 14,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,250,149.58. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $1,475,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,461.48. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,168 shares of company stock valued at $5,544,685. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.