Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $119.00 to $139.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 3.12% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.18.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $143.48 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $59.13 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.44.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $64,117,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $53,946,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the period.

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.