The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Raised by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,392 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 996 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 20.0% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth about $311,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 14,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 93.6% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 20,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 9,714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.09.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $55.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Kroger 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.