Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 17,034 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 61,467 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,034 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger 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 $4,142,036.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $56.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.79 and its 200-day moving average is $53.89.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

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.