Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 600 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,320 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.2% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $315,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 36.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 138,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,939,000 after buying an additional 36,903 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, PGGM Investments bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 5.1 %

KR stock opened at $60.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $61.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

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.