Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Short Interest Down 5.9% in August

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 431,700 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the August 15th total of 459,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 89,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th.

Insider Transactions at Ingles Markets

In other news, Director Sharp Laura Ingle sold 5,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.02, for a total transaction of $401,386.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 23.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ingles Markets

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IMKTA. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 550,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,220,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 0.3% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 376,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,330,000 after buying an additional 32,013 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ingles Markets by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 311,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,872,000 after acquiring an additional 23,854 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ingles Markets by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 231,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,719,000 after acquiring an additional 5,950 shares during the period. 62.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IMKTA opened at $73.36 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.20 and a 200-day moving average of $73.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Ingles Markets has a 1-year low of $67.10 and a 1-year high of $89.59.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter. Ingles Markets had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter.

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ingles Markets’s payout ratio is 7.12%.

About Ingles Markets

Ingles Markets, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of supermarkets in the southeast United States. It offers food products, including grocery, meat and dairy products, produce, frozen foods, and other perishables; and non-food products, which include fuel centers, pharmacies, health and beauty care products, and general merchandise, as well as private label items.