SFM: For the fourth quarter, analysts are expecting the company to announce earnings of 9 cents per share, up from the 7 cents it reported in the same period of last year.
Analysts expect revenue to come in at $721.97 million for the quarter, also higher than the year ago $608.24 million in sales.
BMO Capital upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) from Market Perform to Outperform with a price target of $34.00, saying recent weakness creates a buying opportunity.
RBC Capital analyst William Kirk lowered his price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $40.00 (from $42.00) following Q1 results but maintained an Outperform rating.
Deutsche Bank maintained a Hold rating on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) and lowered its price target to $27.00 (from $35.00).
Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) Misses Q1 EPS by 1c
StreetInsider - 4:40 PM ET, 05/07/2015
Sprouts Farmers Market reported Q1 EPS of $0.25, $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.26. Revenue for the quarter came in at $857.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $862.5 million.
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Results
PHOENIX, Feb. 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: SFM) today reported results for the 14-week fourth quarter and 53-week year ended January 3, 2016. Period-over-period increases stated herein reflect the comparison of 14 and 53 weeks in fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015 to 13 and 52 weeks in fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014, respectively, unless otherwise noted.
Fourth Quarter Highlights:
Net sales of $930.3 million; a 27% increase from the same period in 2014
Comparable store sales growth of 7.4% and two-year comparable store sales growth of 15.9%, both on a 13-week basis
Net income of $28.2 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.18 Adjusted net income of $28.4 million; a 57% increase from the same period in 2014
Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.18; a 50% increase from the same period in 2014
Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.16; a 33% increase from the same period in 2014 on a 13-week basis
Adjusted EBITDA of $66.7 million; a 25% increase from the same period in 2014
Fiscal Year 2015 Highlights:
Net sales of $3.59 billion; a 21% increase compared to reported net sales in 2014
Comparable store sales growth of 5.8% and two-year combined comparable store sales growth of 15.7%, both on a 52-week basis
Net income increased to $129.0 million; diluted earnings per share of $0.83
Adjusted net income increased to $134.7 million; a 21% increase from 2014
Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.86; a 19% increase from 2014
Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.84; a 17% increase from 2014 on a 52-week basis
Adjusted EBITDA of $302.1 million; a 14% increase from 2014
“As more and more Americans embraced our “Healthy Living for Less” model, Sprouts’ position of strength in the industry continued to grow in 2015,” said Amin Maredia, chief executive officer of Sprouts Farmers Market. “Our unique combination of health, value and customer engagement resulted in industry leading comps of 5.8% and strong earnings growth in the high teens. This momentum enables us to focus on our strategic priorities, including product and category innovation, in and out-of-store customer experience and developing team members who can lead our new stores as we continue to grow.”
By Bruce Kamich Follow | Mar 16, 2016 | 1:20 PM EDT
Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) has made an eight-month base pattern, which should give it the technical support for intermediate term gains into the $35 to $40 area in the months ahead.
In the chart above, you should be able to see the $20 to $30 trading range going back about eight months. The 50-day simple moving average line turned up in November, as did the On Balance Volume (OBV) line.
In February, buying turned more aggressive as prices rallied above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages and the OBV worked higher. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator has crisscrossed the zero line since October, but is now firmly in positive territory.
We can uncover more bullish clues in the longer-term chart, above. Sprouts Farmers Market is above the 40-week moving average line. The OBV line on a weekly time frame has been moving up for months and the MACD oscillator just moved above the zero line for an outright buy signal.
News that privately held grocery store chain owner Albertsons Cos is considering the purchase of Sprouts Natural Market (SFM) has sent shares surging in recent sessions.
Sprouts operates more than 240 stores in 15 states that offer organic and health food, as well as natural home and personal care products. Unlike larger competitor Whole Foods Market (WFM) (which is often mocked with a "Whole Paycheck" moniker), however, Sprouts boasts somewhat affordable prices.
Albertsons Cos, on the other hand, owns several large grocery chains across the country, including Safeway, Vons, Shaw's, and Albertsons. Although these are huge stores, the purchase of Sprouts would give the company an edge when it comes to the hotly competitive organic food market.
According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), Americans now spend more than $43 billion annually on organic food. And that figure is only likely to grow.
Organic and health food was the sole domain of small, local mom-and-pop stores and markets. But Whole Foods changed that, bringing the concept to large-scale supermarkets. And while Whole Foods was the only game in town for many shoppers, it could justify its high prices.
But now competition is springing up faster than alfalfa sprouts. Along with competitive chains like Sprouts and Trader Joe's, traditional supermarkets such as Kroger (KRG) are beefing up their organic and health selections. Even Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) have gotten into the green game, offering special organic food sections with competitively low prices.
Clearly, organic food is the wave of the future, and companies that sell food to consumers need to be wary of this trend. With such fierce competition in the grocery space, it makes sense for the smaller players to consolidate.
Even if a merger with Albertsons Cos never materializes, it's inevitable that Sprouts will get gobbled up by a bigger supermarket company. And since the two companies have engaged in only preliminary talks, there's still plenty of time for investors to get in on this deal. On Monday, shares of Sprouts finished slightly lower off last week's highs. Watch out for dips in share price to get in and hold on for the likely tasty profits to come.
BofAMerrill Lynchh raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $35.00 (from $32.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.
Oppenheimer raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $31.00 (from $28.00) while maintaining a Outperform rating.
Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $27.00 (from $24.00) while maintaining a Hold rating, following the company's fourth quarter earnings report.
BofAMerrill Lynchh raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $35.00 (from $32.00) while maintaining a
JPMorgan raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $30.00 (from $28.00) while maintaining a Overweight rating.Buy rating.
Stephens lowered its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $25.00 (from $27.00) while maintaining a Equal Weight rating.
BMO Capital lowered its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $29.00 (from $32.00) while maintaining a Market Perform rating.
Citi raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $30.00 (from $29.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.
Northcoast Research raised its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) to $32.00 (from $28.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.Analyst Chuck Cerankosky is "strongly" reiterating his purchase recommendation.
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