15,566 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $60.35. 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 50 day moving average of $56.04 and a 200 day moving average of $54.03.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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. 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 2.15%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. 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 the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.