SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the January 31st total of 919,300 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 284,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

SpartanNash Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of SPTN traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.26. The company had a trading volume of 234,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,109. The firm has a market cap of $684.08 million, a P/E ratio of -2,026.00 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. SpartanNash has a 52-week low of $17.30 and a 52-week high of $23.00.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.09. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that SpartanNash will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 3,585.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of SpartanNash in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 167.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,966 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in shares of SpartanNash in the fourth quarter worth about $113,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of SpartanNash in the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPTN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research downgraded SpartanNash from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded SpartanNash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

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.