Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Ingles Markets Stock Up 0.5 %

Ingles Markets stock opened at $72.70 on Friday. Ingles Markets has a twelve month low of $67.10 and a twelve month high of $89.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.12%.

Insider Transactions at Ingles Markets

In other news, Director Sharp Laura Ingle sold 5,901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.02, for a total transaction of $401,386.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingles Markets

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Ingles Markets by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 550,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,220,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Ingles Markets by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 376,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,804,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Ingles Markets by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,330,000 after buying an additional 32,013 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ingles Markets by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 231,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,719,000 after buying an additional 5,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Ingles Markets by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 196,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,480,000 after buying an additional 103,507 shares during the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.