Hari K. Avula Sells 1,500 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Director Hari K. Avula sold 1,500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.28, for a total transaction of $241,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,650,216.96. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $168.68 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.15 and a twelve month high of $178.99. 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 capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.86, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SFM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,046,000 after buying an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares during 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.