Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) fell 4.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $78.95 and last traded at $79.11. 541,685 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 1,333,644 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.78.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms recently issued reports on SFM. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.25.
Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.19.
Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 26.77%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.48, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 52,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,156,771.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.48, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 52,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,156,771.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 3,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $234,969.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,170.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,768 shares of company stock valued at $12,747,440 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 2,842 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,976,000 after buying an additional 4,559 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 43,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 126,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,393,000 after buying an additional 1,200 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.