Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Stock Performance

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage stock opened at $46.98 on Friday. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage has a fifty-two week low of $14.31 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.74 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage’s dividend payout ratio is 32.43%.

Institutional Trading of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NGVC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 178,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,781,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,781 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 193,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,741,000 after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage by 24.3% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 13,312 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.99% of the company’s stock.

About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, retails natural and organic groceries, and dietary supplements in the United States. The company’s stores offer natural and organic grocery products, such as organic produce; private label repackaged bulk products, including dried fruits, nuts, grains, granolas, teas, herbs, and spices, as well as peanut and almond butters; private label products comprising grocery staples, household products, bulk foods, and vitamins and dietary supplements, as well as organic eggs, organic flavored coffee, and organic mustard; dry, frozen, and canned groceries; meat and seafood products; dairy products, dairy substitutes, and eggs; prepared foods; bread and baked products; beverages; and beer, wine, and hard cider products.