Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $179.60 and last traded at $179.53, with a volume of 2186742 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $172.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,547 shares of company stock valued at $22,307,280. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,481,000 after buying an additional 15,930 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 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.