Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $21.45 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 429,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,139 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Kroger were worth $21,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.2% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $56.71 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 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.