Short Interest in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Increases By 57.2%

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 639,300 shares, a growth of 57.2% from the September 30th total of 406,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 126,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Ingles Markets

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IMKTA. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 240.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 413.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 406 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 101.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Ingles Markets in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ingles Markets in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 62.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingles Markets Stock Down 1.3 %

IMKTA stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.62. 85,636 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 220,340. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.14 and its 200 day moving average is $71.50. Ingles Markets has a twelve month low of $59.73 and a twelve month high of $89.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Ingles Markets Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Ingles Markets's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Ingles Markets from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st.

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.