Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $4.82 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,948 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Kroger were worth $4,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter worth $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 63.0% in the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after buying an additional 15,048 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.97 and a one year high of $60.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.23. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on KR. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

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.