The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 492.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 320,816 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Kroger worth $22,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $57.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.54 and a 1-year high of $60.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.75 and a 200-day moving average of $54.17.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business 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 for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 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.