Czech National Bank Purchases 7,715 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Czech National Bank grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,273 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,715 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 15,048 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 302,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,331,000 after buying an additional 2,555 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Kroger by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after buying an additional 43,143 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 13,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $127,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $55.22 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.92. The company has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

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.