Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat. Could I please have your thoughts on Sprouts Farmers Market? Thank you so much.

Article Excerpt

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., $27.58, symbol SFM on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 153.3 million; Market cap: $4.5 billion; www.sprouts.com), opened its first organic and natural food store in Arizona in 2002. It now has 200 outlets, mainly in the western U.S. Sprouts first sold shares to the public at $18.00 each and began trading on Nasdaq in August 2013. The company has grown quickly in the past few years. In 2011, it merged with Henry’s Holdings, which operated 43 stores. It later purchased 37 outlets operating under the Sunflower Farmers Market banner. In addition to acquisitions, Sprouts continues to add new stores, opening 10 in the three months ended March 29, 2015. That increased its sales by 18.7% in the quarter, to $857.6 million from $722.6 million a year earlier. Same-store sales (which exclude recently opened and closed outlets) gained 4.8%. Overall earnings rose 11.1%, to $37.5 million from $33.7 million, while per-share profits increased 9.1%, to $0.24 from $0.22, on more shares outstanding. If…