Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Village Super Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLGEA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $46.55 and last traded at $46.49, with a volume of 47784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Village Super Market from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Village Super Market from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Village Super Market currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Village Super Market Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $685.73 million, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $640.96 million for the quarter. Village Super Market had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 11.52%.

Village Super Market Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Village Super Market’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.18%.

Insider Activity at Village Super Market

In related news, CEO John James Sumas sold 12,702 shares of Village Super Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.16, for a total value of $548,218.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,555,918. This trade represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Sumas sold 12,703 shares of Village Super Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.30, for a total transaction of $524,633.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 102,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,339.40. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 33,405 shares of company stock worth $1,423,892 in the last ninety days. 59.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Village Super Market

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLGEA. Bulldog Investors LLP increased its stake in Village Super Market by 184.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 151,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,660,000 after buying an additional 98,253 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in Village Super Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,178,000. Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new position in Village Super Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,973,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Village Super Market by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 174,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,176,000 after buying an additional 39,244 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Village Super Market by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 502,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,772,000 after buying an additional 38,108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.02% of the company’s stock.

About Village Super Market

Village Super Market, Inc is a publicly traded supermarket operator headquartered in Springfield, New Jersey. The company operates a network of ShopRite-branded grocery stores under a membership agreement with Wakefern Food Corp., one of the largest retailer-owned cooperatives in the United States. Through its ShopRite banner, Village Super Market serves communities across northern and central New Jersey, offering a full range of grocery products from fresh produce, meat, seafood and bakery items to dairy, deli and health and beauty merchandise.

The company’s supermarkets feature an array of in-store services designed to meet diverse customer needs.