Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Stock Position in SpartanNash Company $SPTN

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has significantly increased its stake in SpartanNash Company by acquiring 73,545 additional shares, raising its ownership to 108,032 shares, which is valued at approximately $2.19 million.
• SpartanNash recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54, surpassing analysts' expectations, while the company's revenue was $2.27 billion, slightly below estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding 3.3%, with a payout ratio currently at -183.33%, indicating potential sustainability concerns of the dividend payments.

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of SpartanNash Company (NASDAQ:SPTN - Free Report) by 213.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 108,032 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,545 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.32% of SpartanNash worth $2,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPTN. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SpartanNash in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 5.0% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 50,344 shares of the company's stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in SpartanNash in the first quarter valued at $236,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in SpartanNash in the first quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in SpartanNash by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,177,857 shares of the company's stock worth $23,863,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SPTN shares. Zacks Research upgraded SpartanNash from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SpartanNash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $26.90 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of SpartanNash in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.45.

SpartanNash Trading Down 0.1%

SPTN traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $26.80. 580,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,244. SpartanNash Company has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $26.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.22. The firm has a market cap of $907.45 million, a P/E ratio of -55.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.04. SpartanNash had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that SpartanNash Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SpartanNash Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. SpartanNash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -183.33%.

SpartanNash 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.