Brandon F. Lombardi Sells 5,174 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $387,894.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,718.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.66. 1,116,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,369,375. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.51 and a 200-day moving average of $53.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $32.12 and a one year high of $75.95. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 26.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during 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.