Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $149.36 and last traded at $148.26, with a volume of 46132 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $147.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $15.33 billion, a PE ratio of 44.31, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.09.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,172 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,262.40. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total transaction of $577,628.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,051 shares of company stock valued at $5,133,932. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,107,000 after purchasing an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,138,000 after purchasing an additional 28,636 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.