Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Raised to “Buy” at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target points to a potential upside of 38.94% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of 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, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $136.75 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $60.46 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.66. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,564 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,770 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 162 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.