Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes $46,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.58 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.04 and its 200-day moving average is $54.03. 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 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $60.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kroger

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.