J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,618 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:KR opened at $55.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.87.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.