Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $60.80 and last traded at $62.2040, with a volume of 2,547,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $94.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.84% and a net margin of 5.58%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.48, for a total value of $695,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 269,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,408,310.40. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 2,597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total transaction of $214,434.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,214,604.70. This trade represents a 15.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 46,041 shares of company stock worth $3,460,383 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signet Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $2,938,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,790,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,738,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $131,310,000. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 82,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,496,000 after acquiring an additional 20,581 shares during the last quarter.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc (NASDAQ:SFM) is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Its stores offer a broad selection of fresh produce, meat and seafood, dairy products, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, pantry staples, bakery items, deli products and prepared foods. The company emphasizes products that support healthy eating, including organic, plant-based and specialty-diet options.

Founded in 2002, Sprouts Farmers Market grew from its first store in Chandler, Arizona, into a national grocery chain.