Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Given Buy Rating at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company restated their buy rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in a report released on Thursday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Gordon Haskett initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. They set an accumulate rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Jefferies Group LLC set a $26.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America Corporation reissued a buy rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $25.05.

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) traded up 1.02% during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $23.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,016,715 shares. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.22 and a 200-day moving average of $21.88. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12 month low of $17.38 and a 12 month high of $25.98. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98 and a beta of 0.52.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post $0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Amin N. Maredia sold 13,448 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $305,404.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Dan J. Sanders sold 21,976 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $532,478.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 36,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $890,961.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,246 shares of company stock valued at $2,840,927. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth approximately $152,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth approximately $161,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, First Quadrant L P CA increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 16.3% in the second quarter. First Quadrant L P CA now owns 7,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc is a food retailer. The Company operates as a grocery store that offers fresh, natural and organic food that includes fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, packaged groceries, meat and seafood, deli, baked goods, dairy products, frozen foods, body care and natural household items catering to consumers’ interest in health and wellness.