WoodTrust Financial Corp Buys 5,845 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,382 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,845 shares during the quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 462,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,341,000 after purchasing an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 14.3% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 22.2% in the third quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 151,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,664,000 after purchasing an additional 27,494 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,893,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,471,000 after purchasing an additional 175,080 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Kroger by 11.5% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $59.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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 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 revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.