Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 667 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,665 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.12. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $60.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 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 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

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.