Maven Securities LTD Boosts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Maven Securities LTD increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,147 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,628 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in Kroger were worth $507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Argus raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:KR opened at $56.09 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.94. The company has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.