Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,720 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the second quarter worth about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the second quarter worth about $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 18.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in Kroger by 82.2% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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 raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. 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 hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $56.35 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $40.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.84.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.