Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 406,700 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the September 15th total of 437,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 114,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingles Markets

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 18.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 55,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after buying an additional 8,432 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ingles Markets during the fourth quarter worth about $1,574,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 111.0% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 196,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,480,000 after acquiring an additional 103,507 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Ingles Markets by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,252,000 after buying an additional 10,842 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Ingles Markets by 69.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 16,877 shares during the period. 62.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ingles Markets Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IMKTA opened at $62.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 0.70. Ingles Markets has a 52 week low of $59.73 and a 52 week high of $89.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.46 and its 200-day moving average is $72.08.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ingles Markets had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter.

Ingles Markets Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.12%.

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.