Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $180.17 and last traded at $175.11, with a volume of 11218 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $177.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 3.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 49.08, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 95 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.