Short Interest in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Expands By 5.6%

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

Insider Activity at Ingles Markets

In related news, Director Sharp Laura Ingle sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,877,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $607,000 in the last 90 days. 23.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingles Markets

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,283,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IMKTA has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet cut Ingles Markets from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th.

Ingles Markets Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IMKTA opened at $73.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.60. Ingles Markets has a 52 week low of $72.72 and a 52 week high of $94.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 3.22.

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

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 11th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 10th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.79%.

Ingles Markets Company Profile

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.