From MarketBeat:

SpartanNash saw a 31.6% increase in short interest in December, with approximately 1,090,000 shares sold short, equivalent to 3.2% of the stock. This indicates that short interest grew significantly from the previous month’s total of 828,200 shares.

Analysts have set new price targets for SPTN stock, with StockNews.com rating it as a “buy”, while TheStreet downgraded it to a “c+” rating. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced SpartanNash’s price objective to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating.

Hedge funds and institutional investors have bought and sold shares of SpartanNash, with total institutional ownership reaching 81.49% of the company’s stock.

SpartanNash stock traded down 0.9% on Friday, hitting $22.95, with a market capitalization of $794.53 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81.

In its quarterly earnings results, SpartanNash reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.06). Analysts predict that the company will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend. The ex-dividend date was December 7th, with a dividend payout ratio of 70.49% and a yield of 3.75%.

Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Byron Center, Michigan, SpartanNash Company distributes and retails grocery products. It operates through Wholesale and Retail segments. The Wholesale segment offers grocery products and perishable food products to various retailers.



Read more: Short Interest in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Increases By 31.6%