HRT Financial LP Makes New $52.38 Million Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

by · The Markets Daily

HRT Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 318,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,383,000. HRT Financial LP owned approximately 0.33% of Sprouts Farmers Market as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 124.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 188,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,648,000 after buying an additional 104,385 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 272,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,637,000 after purchasing an additional 36,396 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,481,000 after acquiring an additional 15,930 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,780,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ SFM opened at $79.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.05. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $75.75 and a one year high of $182.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.70.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 38.03% and a net margin of 5.93%.Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.240-5.280 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.860-0.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 19th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $124.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $178.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.86.

Get Our Latest Research Report on SFM

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $1,488,529.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,965.60. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.50, for a total transaction of $94,178.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,679,688.50. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,384 shares of company stock valued at $1,999,342 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

(Free Report)

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.

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