The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Price Target to $127.00

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $111.00 to $127.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.24% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $96.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $117.33. The stock had a trading volume of 89,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,187. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52 week low of $39.76 and a 52 week high of $117.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $105.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total transaction of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.52, for a total transaction of $545,801.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 233,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,338,307.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 124,142 shares of company stock valued at $12,401,112. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 74,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,196,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,872,000 after buying an additional 13,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.