Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $21.77 Million Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,300 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.15% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $21,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.06, for a total transaction of $457,829.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 177,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,902,494.30. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares in the company, valued at $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,675 shares of company stock worth $22,127,407. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SFM. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six 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 an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $157.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.80 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.