Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ingles Markets in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Ingles Markets Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IMKTA opened at $84.90 on Friday. Ingles Markets has a twelve month low of $58.92 and a twelve month high of $85.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.59 and a 200-day moving average of $70.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ingles Markets had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 1.76%.The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter.

Ingles Markets Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IMKTA. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Ingles Markets by 45,500.0% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 456 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Ingles Markets in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ingles Markets by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Highlander Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Ingles Markets during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ingles Markets in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

Ingles Markets Company Profile

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.