Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $160.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.36% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $3.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.03. 374,576 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,164. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $151.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $122,303.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,464.74. This trade represents a 8.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This represents a 20.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 95 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.