Financial Advocates Investment Management Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

KR stock opened at $56.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.89. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

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.