SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 829,100 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the November 15th total of 692,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 243,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

SpartanNash Stock Down 0.3 %

SPTN traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.62. 206,581 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,099. The stock has a market capitalization of $662.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. SpartanNash has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $24.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.21.

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

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.2175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. SpartanNash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SpartanNash

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPTN. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in SpartanNash in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of SpartanNash in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in SpartanNash by 5,317.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in SpartanNash by 64.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in SpartanNash in the second quarter worth approximately $79,000. 84.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

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.