Empirical Finance LLC Sells 15,903 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 15.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 89,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,903 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $7,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,309.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth about $29,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.80, for a total transaction of $936,398.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 269,980 shares in the company, valued at $23,434,264. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 12,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $1,102,090.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 66,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,811,860.10. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,499 shares of company stock worth $4,060,237. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $80.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital set a $82.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.25.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $5.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.11. 2,560,999 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,373,787. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.75 and a 12-month high of $139.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $81.55 and its 200-day moving average is $80.21. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.84% and a net margin of 5.58%.The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.320-5.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company operates stores designed to offer an open-market shopping experience, emphasizing quality produce sourced from regional farmers alongside organic pantry staples, dairy, meat and seafood. Sprouts’ product assortment also includes bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, a deli and prepared foods, reflecting its commitment to wellness and affordable healthy living.

Founded in 2002 by members of the Boney family, Sprouts began as a single farmers market in Chandler, Arizona.