SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Should You Sell?

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) shares dropped 4.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $18.50 and last traded at $18.54. Approximately 224,412 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 253,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

SpartanNash Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $626.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.21.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. SpartanNash had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 0.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that SpartanNash will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.2175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. SpartanNash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SpartanNash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in SpartanNash by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 744,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,963,000 after acquiring an additional 123,952 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SpartanNash in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in SpartanNash by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 328,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,160,000 after buying an additional 41,619 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SpartanNash by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 197,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,706,000 after buying an additional 29,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in SpartanNash in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $638,000. 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.