Franklin Resources Inc. Takes Position in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SPTN. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in SpartanNash by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 744,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,963,000 after purchasing an additional 123,952 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 328,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,160,000 after buying an additional 41,619 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in SpartanNash by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 223,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in SpartanNash by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 197,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after acquiring an additional 29,849 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its stake in SpartanNash by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 188,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,178 shares in the last quarter. 84.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SpartanNash Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SPTN opened at $18.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.28 and a 200-day moving average of $20.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $614.68 million, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.35. SpartanNash has a twelve month low of $17.74 and a twelve month high of $24.51.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. SpartanNash had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 0.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that SpartanNash will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.2175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. SpartanNash’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

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.