UBS Group Increases Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Price Target to $94.00

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $68.00 to $94.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SFM. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $83.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.98. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $35.85 and a one year high of $83.71. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.51.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $387,894.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,718.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $99,216.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at $412,775. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $387,894.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,718.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,433 shares of company stock valued at $4,522,865. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 505.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 43,990 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $118,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 29.6% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 19,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.7% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 194,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,528,000 after buying an additional 6,937 shares during 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.