Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $54.81 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,097,637 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,186 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.15% of Kroger worth $54,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Kroger by 40.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,498,000 after acquiring an additional 26,079 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT raised its holdings in Kroger by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 1,516,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,710,000 after purchasing an additional 82,788 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 892,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,560,000 after purchasing an additional 51,082 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 83,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,153,000 after purchasing an additional 31,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Kroger by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,154,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,596,000 after buying an additional 211,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $55.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.66 and its 200-day moving average is $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.