The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL

Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 42.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,187 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL’s holdings in Kroger were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.78. 759,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,768,880. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.86. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

About Kroger

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.