Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM)
plunged around 15 percent on Wednesday and hit a new 52-week low of $19.00 after the company updated its third-quarter
and full-year 2016 guidance ahead of an industry conference.
Sprouts said it expects comparable store sales growth for the third quarter to be "approximately flat." The company cited the
impact of deflation, a heightened promotional environment and traffic trends.
The company also said it expects comparable store sales growth for the full year to be in a range of 1.5–2.5 percent and its
full-year earnings to be in a range of $0.83–$0.86 per share.
Wall Street analysts were previously expecting the organic grocer to earn $0.94 per share for the full year.
Related Link: Sprouts
Farmers Market Harvested Industry-Leading Comp Sales In Recent Quarter
"At Sprouts, we have operated and managed through similar competitive and deflationary periods," said Amin Maredia, chief
executive officer of Sprouts Farmers Market. "Our team remains laser focused on accelerating traffic and sales in the current
environment, while continuing to execute our strategic business plan to build long-term value."
Watch The Grocers
One of Sprouts' closest peers in the organic space, Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) saw its shares dip lower by over 5 percent in reaction to Sprouts'
guidance.
Kroger Co (NYSE: KR), a traditional grocer that has
been expanding heavily into the organic space, also saw its shares dip lower by nearly 4 percent.
On the other hand, shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) were lower by less than 0.50 percent. Wal-Mart's ambitions do dominate the
grocery space has been well known to investors and the retailer recently teamed up with Uber and Lyft
to deliver groceries to customers.
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