Short Interest in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Increases By 25.5%

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 991,000 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the December 15th total of 789,600 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 274,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

SpartanNash Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ SPTN traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.18. The company had a trading volume of 21,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,209. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day moving average is $20.08. SpartanNash has a one year low of $17.30 and a one year high of $23.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $613.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.35.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SpartanNash will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.2175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. SpartanNash’s payout ratio is 65.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded SpartanNash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SpartanNash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of SpartanNash by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 744,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,963,000 after buying an additional 123,952 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in SpartanNash during the third quarter worth about $1,802,000. Dean Investment Associates LLC grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 54.2% in the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 188,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 66,178 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 120.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 47,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 71.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 42,719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.59% of the company’s stock.

SpartanNash Company Profile

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.