Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $49.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $44.00. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 52.27% from the company’s current price.

SG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sweetgreen from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp started coverage on Sweetgreen in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Sweetgreen from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.10.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

Sweetgreen stock opened at $32.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.26 and a beta of 2.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.87 and a 200-day moving average of $33.59. Sweetgreen has a one year low of $9.66 and a one year high of $45.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 5,372 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total value of $182,916.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,654,007.65. This trade represents a 4.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mitch Reback sold 9,507 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total value of $323,713.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 360,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,264,026.85. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 640,838 shares of company stock valued at $24,800,733. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in Sweetgreen during the second quarter worth $279,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $477,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Sweetgreen by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 141,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 5,301 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sweetgreen by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 442,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,336,000 after purchasing an additional 73,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in Sweetgreen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $844,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

Sweetgreen, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates fast food restaurants serving healthy foods at scale in the United States. The company also accepts orders through its online and mobile ordering platforms, as well as sells gift cards that do not have an expiration date and can be redeemed. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.