OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.48 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,797 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,130 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 15,048 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of KR opened at $58.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.