Wall Street Zen Upgrades Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) to Strong-Buy

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ingles Markets in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ingles Markets has an average rating of “Hold”.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IMKTA opened at $84.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.77. Ingles Markets has a 1 year low of $58.92 and a 1 year high of $85.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.67.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Ingles Markets by 16.5% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 948,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,124,000 after acquiring an additional 134,398 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 167.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 102,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 64,049 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ingles Markets during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,027,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ingles Markets during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,724,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Ingles Markets by 122.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 72,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after buying an additional 40,164 shares in the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ingles Markets

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.