SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Short Interest Update

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) was the recipient of a large 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 274,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in SpartanNash by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 744,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,963,000 after acquiring an additional 123,952 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 14.5% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 328,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 41,619 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 0.8% in the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 223,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 17.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 197,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,706,000 after buying an additional 29,849 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its holdings in SpartanNash by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 188,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,221,000 after buying an additional 66,178 shares during the last quarter. 84.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SpartanNash Price Performance

Shares of SpartanNash stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.18. 21,921 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 259,209. The stock has a market cap of $613.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. SpartanNash has a 52 week low of $17.30 and a 52 week high of $23.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day moving average is $20.08.

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

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.