CX Institutional Decreases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

CX Institutional lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 52.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,085 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 1.6 %

Kroger stock opened at $56.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $830,303. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.