Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $135.83 and last traded at $135.80, with a volume of 248671 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SFM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 3.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.27 and a 200 day moving average of $93.07. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,162,700. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,999 shares of company stock valued at $8,148,868 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,715,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,966,000 after acquiring an additional 29,362 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,107,000 after acquiring an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,138,000 after acquiring an additional 28,636 shares in the last quarter.

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.