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

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) hit 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $177.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 3.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.99. The firm has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,252,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,517,000.

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.