Short Interest in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Decreases By 5.2%

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 675,600 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 713,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 156,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Ingles Markets Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Ingles Markets stock opened at $64.44 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.74. Ingles Markets has a 1 year low of $59.73 and a 1 year high of $89.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 27th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ingles Markets had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 2.74%.

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Ingles Markets’s payout ratio is presently 7.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingles Markets

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IMKTA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 413.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 75.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Ingles Markets during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ingles Markets by 101.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ingles Markets in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Ingles Markets from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

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.