Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Technical breakout: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) crossed above its 200‑day moving average, trading as high as $90.90 and last at $90.50 (200‑day MA $78.47; 50‑day MA $88.13), with the stock up about 2.9% on the move.
• Analyst stance remains cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" after Wall Street Zen trimmed IMKTA from "strong‑buy" to "buy" and Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c‑)".
• Fundamentals and shareholder returns: Market cap ~ $1.72B and P/E ~18.1, latest quarter EPS $1.48 on $1.37B revenue, a modest annualized dividend of $0.66 (yield ~0.7%), and institutional investors hold about 62.5% of shares.

Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $78.47 and traded as high as $90.90. Ingles Markets shares last traded at $90.50, with a volume of 130,304 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ingles Markets from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Ingles Markets in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Ingles Markets Stock Up 2.9%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $88.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.47. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter. Ingles Markets had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 5.93%.

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ingles Markets's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingles Markets

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IMKTA. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 372,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,515,000 after buying an additional 68,909 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 167.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 102,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,118,000 after buying an additional 64,049 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,206,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,716,000 after buying an additional 46,269 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 181,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,423,000 after buying an additional 41,697 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 188,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,144,000 after buying an additional 37,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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