Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Insider selling: CFO Orden John L. Van sold 8,000 shares on April 10 (avg $43.88), a 19.99% reduction, and CEO John James Sumas sold 12,702 shares on April 8 (avg $43.16), a 26.05% reduction, after which the stock gapped down from $43.23 to an $41.83 open.
• Analyst sentiment: The consensus rating is "Buy," with Weiss Ratings reiterating a "buy" and Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock to "strong-buy."
• Financials and dividend: Market cap ~$612.5M, PE 10.98, last quarter EPS $1.21, and the company pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annual $1.00) for a ~2.4% yield and a 26.18% payout ratio.

Village Super Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLGEA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $43.23, but opened at $41.83. Village Super Market shares last traded at $41.9550, with a volume of 5,787 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CFO Orden John L. Van sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $351,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,169.24. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John James Sumas sold 12,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.16, for a total transaction of $548,218.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,555,918. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VLGEA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Village Super Market in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Village Super Market from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Village Super Market Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $612.50 million, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.76.

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

Village Super Market Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Village Super Market's payout ratio is presently 26.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Village Super Market

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Village Super Market during the third quarter worth about $2,178,000. Bulldog Investors LLP grew its stake in shares of Village Super Market by 184.5% during the third quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 151,510 shares of the company's stock worth $5,660,000 after acquiring an additional 98,253 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Village Super Market by 15.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 122,853 shares of the company's stock worth $4,590,000 after acquiring an additional 16,252 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Village Super Market by 12.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 159,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,941,000 after buying an additional 17,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Village Super Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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