Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Raises Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,061 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Kroger were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Kroger by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Kroger by 82.2% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.2 %

KR opened at $59.58 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.03. The firm has a market cap of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

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

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.