West Coast Financial LLC Increases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

West Coast Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,488 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $426,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $250,000. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Kroger by 18.9% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 1,156 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 0.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 33,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $201,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger 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 owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.50. 625,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,865,697. 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 company has a market cap of $40.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.36.

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.