Sprouts Farmers Market’s (SFM) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an underperform rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $64.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.29 and its 200 day moving average is $52.52. Sprouts Farmers Market has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $68.03.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.71% and a net margin of 3.79%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total value of $329,851.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,349.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $26,049.99. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,377.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $329,851.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at $671,349.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 614.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,039,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,614,241 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 411.4% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,538,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,610 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,992,000. California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,524,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,478,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,135,000 after buying an additional 398,901 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.