Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Rating Increased to Buy at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $185.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $148.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market has a fifty-two week low of $60.46 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $148.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total value of $4,477,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. The trade was a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,896,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period.

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.