First Business Financial Services Inc. Has $1.43 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First Business Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 648 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $59.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.16 and its 200 day moving average is $54.07. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $60.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’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 transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.