SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

SpartanNash Stock Performance

Shares of SpartanNash stock opened at $17.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $602.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.35. SpartanNash has a 52 week low of $17.30 and a 52 week high of $23.00.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. SpartanNash had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 0.48%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.2175 per share. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. SpartanNash’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SpartanNash

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

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.