SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on SpartanNash from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st.

SpartanNash Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ SPTN opened at $21.94 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.95. SpartanNash has a one year low of $17.74 and a one year high of $24.51. The company has a market capitalization of $743.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.62.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. SpartanNash had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 8.87%. SpartanNash’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that SpartanNash will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SpartanNash

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 58.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in SpartanNash during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in SpartanNash during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in SpartanNash in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SpartanNash by 5,317.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.59% of the company’s stock.

SpartanNash Company Profile

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.