SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Short Interest Update

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 692,900 shares, a drop of 20.9% from the October 31st total of 876,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 244,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

SpartanNash Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SPTN stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $18.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 114,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,292. SpartanNash has a fifty-two week low of $17.74 and a fifty-two week high of $24.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $640.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. SpartanNash had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 8.57%. SpartanNash’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that SpartanNash will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.2175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. SpartanNash’s payout ratio is currently 65.41%.

Institutional Trading of SpartanNash

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 3.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of SpartanNash by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in SpartanNash by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in SpartanNash by 2.2% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in SpartanNash by 2.2% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 48,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. 84.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SpartanNash

SpartanNash Company distributes and retails grocery products in the United States of America. It operates through Wholesale and Retail segments. The Wholesale segment offers grocery products and perishable food products, including dry groceries, produce, dairy products, meat, delicatessen items, bakery goods, frozen food, seafood, floral products, general merchandise, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty care, and pharmaceutical products to independent retailers, national accounts, food service distributors, e-commerce providers, and corporate owned retail stores.