Short Interest in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Drops By 5.9%

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 431,700 shares, a decrease of 5.9% from the August 15th total of 459,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 89,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingles Markets

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IMKTA. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Ingles Markets by 1.2% in the first 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 raised its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 0.3% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 376,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 9.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,013 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 311,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,872,000 after acquiring an additional 23,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 231,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,719,000 after acquiring an additional 5,950 shares in the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IMKTA opened at $73.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.70. Ingles Markets has a twelve month low of $67.10 and a twelve month high of $89.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.26.

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

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.12%.

Ingles Markets Company Profile

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.