GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 25,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,643,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $1,378,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 411.4% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,538,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,013,000 after buying an additional 1,237,610 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 158,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,638,000 after buying an additional 14,401 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $909,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,152.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after buying an additional 62,755 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM traded down $0.56 on Wednesday, reaching $80.02. The company had a trading volume of 451,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,378. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.32 and its 200 day moving average is $64.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.21 and a fifty-two week high of $84.46. The stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 26.77%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total transaction of $387,894.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,718.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.14, for a total transaction of $2,298,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,817,839.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,147 shares of company stock valued at $4,999,299. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.