Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Short Interest Up 5.6% in March

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 304,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 288,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 82,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sharp Laura Ingle sold 4,000 shares of Ingles Markets stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.25, for a total transaction of $305,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,375. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $607,000. 23.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ingles Markets

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Ingles Markets during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 53.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ingles Markets during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Ingles Markets by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Ingles Markets by 717.0% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 817 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IMKTA. TheStreet downgraded Ingles Markets from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

NASDAQ:IMKTA opened at $73.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.89 and its 200 day moving average is $80.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Ingles Markets has a 12 month low of $72.72 and a 12 month high of $94.68.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter. Ingles Markets had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 3.14%.

Ingles Markets Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 10th. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.79%.

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.