Trexquant Investment LP Grows Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 51.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 173,437 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,188 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $22,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFM. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $162,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 259,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,925,000 after buying an additional 93,734 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 49,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 64,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,185,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 3.3 %

SFM stock opened at $152.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.61 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.07.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $1,614,935.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,968,762.75. This trade represents a 16.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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.