Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,673 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,596 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of SpartanNash worth $2,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SPTN. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of SpartanNash by 120.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 47,141 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 14.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 47,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 6,058 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 71.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 42,719 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in SpartanNash by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in SpartanNash in the third quarter valued at $244,000. 84.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SpartanNash Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ SPTN opened at $19.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $672.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,992.00 and a beta of 0.34. SpartanNash has a 12-month low of $17.30 and a 12-month high of $23.00.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.09. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that SpartanNash will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SPTN. Northcoast Research lowered SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

About SpartanNash

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.