Short Interest in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Expands By 25.5%

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) was the recipient of a large 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 company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 274,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

SpartanNash Price Performance

NASDAQ SPTN traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 190,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,641. 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 has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $23.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.08. The company has a market capitalization of $608.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.35.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. SpartanNash had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. SpartanNash’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that SpartanNash will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.2175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. SpartanNash’s payout ratio is presently 65.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised SpartanNash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Trading of SpartanNash

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in SpartanNash by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 744,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,963,000 after acquiring an additional 123,952 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 328,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 41,619 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of SpartanNash by 0.8% in the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 223,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 17.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 197,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 29,849 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its holdings in SpartanNash by 54.2% during the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 188,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 66,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.59% of the company’s stock.

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.