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

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $145.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a PE ratio of 42.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.40. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $148.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,700. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,148 shares of company stock valued at $5,853,826 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 59.8% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,286 shares during the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at $3,252,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at $623,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter worth about $450,000.

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.