SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on SpartanNash from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st.

SpartanNash Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SPTN opened at $21.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $734.10 million, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.39. SpartanNash has a 1-year low of $17.74 and a 1-year high of $24.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. SpartanNash had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 0.48%. SpartanNash’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that SpartanNash will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

SpartanNash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.218 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. SpartanNash’s payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SpartanNash

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in SpartanNash by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. 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.