Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Shares Up 3% – Time to Buy?

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) shot up 3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $66.13 and last traded at $65.62. 25,632 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 97,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.71 and a 200-day moving average of $71.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.99.

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

Ingles Markets Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingles Markets

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IMKTA. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 18.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 55,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,786,000 after buying an additional 8,432 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 111.0% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 196,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,480,000 after buying an additional 103,507 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 11.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,252,000 after buying an additional 10,842 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 69.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,161,000 after buying an additional 16,877 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ingles Markets in the second quarter worth $641,000. 62.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ingles Markets Company Profile

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.