SteelPeak Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,859 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 698.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,029 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of KR traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.93. 751,071 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,749,151. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.00 and its 200-day moving average is $53.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $40.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $33.91 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.