Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Sets New 1-Year Low at $72.72

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $72.72 and last traded at $73.27, with a volume of 60504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Ingles Markets from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th.

Ingles Markets Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter. Ingles Markets had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 3.14%.

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 11th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 10th. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ingles Markets

In related news, Director Sharp Laura Ingle sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.25, for a total value of $305,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,375. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $607,000. Company insiders own 23.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingles Markets

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IMKTA. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 252,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,517,000 after buying an additional 43,074 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 223.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,584,000 after acquiring an additional 39,987 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Ingles Markets by 3.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,101,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,720,000 after acquiring an additional 39,930 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ingles Markets by 11.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 374,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,182,000 after acquiring an additional 37,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Ingles Markets by 146.2% during the third quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 62,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,672,000 after purchasing an additional 36,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

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.