Smart & Final Stores Inc (NYSE:SFS) Upgraded at BidaskClub

BidaskClub upgraded shares of Smart & Final Stores Inc (NYSE:SFS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research cut Smart & Final Stores from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and set a $8.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Smart & Final Stores in a research note on Monday, June 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a buy rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Smart & Final Stores in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Loop Capital started coverage on Smart & Final Stores in a research note on Monday, May 15th. They set a buy rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TheStreet cut Smart & Final Stores from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Smart & Final Stores has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.97.

Smart & Final Stores (NYSE SFS) traded up 0.61% during trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,125,513 shares. The stock has a market capitalization of $610.67 million, a PE ratio of 68.75 and a beta of 0.28. Smart & Final Stores has a 52-week low of $7.45 and a 52-week high of $15.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.74 and its 200-day moving average is $11.99.

Smart & Final Stores (NYSE:SFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Smart & Final Stores had a return on equity of 5.62% and a net margin of 0.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Smart & Final Stores will post $0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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In other Smart & Final Stores news, SVP Michael A. Mortensen sold 26,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total value of $362,071.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,191 shares in the company, valued at $646,723.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott R. Drew sold 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.02, for a total value of $273,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $841,716.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 101,940 shares of company stock valued at $1,097,389. 8.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Investments LLC boosted its stake in Smart & Final Stores by 4.0% in the first quarter. Atria Investments LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Aperio Group LLC acquired a new stake in Smart & Final Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $125,000. American International Group Inc. boosted its stake in Smart & Final Stores by 7.1% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Smart & Final Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $157,000. Finally, Suntrust Banks Inc. boosted its stake in Smart & Final Stores by 41.7% in the first quarter. Suntrust Banks Inc. now owns 24,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 7,344 shares during the period.

Smart & Final Stores Company Profile

Smart & Final Stores, Inc is a food retailer. The Company is engaged in the business of selling fresh perishables and everyday grocery items, together with foodservice, packaging and janitorial products. The Company operates through two segments: Smart & Final, and Cash and Carry. The Smart & Final segment focuses on both household and business customers.