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

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 991,000 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the December 15th total of 789,600 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 274,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

SpartanNash Price Performance

Shares of SPTN stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $18.21. 223,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 283,922. The firm has a market cap of $614.77 million, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.10. SpartanNash has a fifty-two week low of $17.30 and a fifty-two week high of $23.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. SpartanNash had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 0.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SpartanNash will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.2175 dividend. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. SpartanNash's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SpartanNash

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of SpartanNash by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 65,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in SpartanNash by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SpartanNash by 90.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in SpartanNash by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 42,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SpartanNash in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SpartanNash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

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.

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