Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $80.42 and last traded at $78.9990, with a volume of 60433 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $77.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on IMKTA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ingles Markets from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ingles Markets in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Ingles Markets has an average rating of “Hold”.

Ingles Markets Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter. Ingles Markets had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.27%.

Ingles Markets Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 8th were given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 8th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.00%.

Institutional Trading of Ingles Markets

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Ingles Markets by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 78,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,458,000 after buying an additional 23,479 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ingles Markets by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 427,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,077,000 after acquiring an additional 14,424 shares during the period. Gate City Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ingles Markets during the second quarter worth $2,724,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 125.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,564 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 11.0% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 223,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,164,000 after purchasing an additional 22,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

About Ingles Markets

Ingles Markets, Inc (NASDAQ: IMKTA) is a family‐owned regional supermarket chain headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. Since its founding in 1963 by Robert P. Ingle Sr., the company has grown to serve communities across the southeastern United States, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. Ingles Markets operates a full-service grocery platform, delivering a broad assortment of fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery items, deli offerings and dairy products alongside pantry staples and household essentials.

In addition to traditional grocery departments, Ingles Markets provides in-store pharmacy services and fuel centers at many of its locations.