Darwin Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $57.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.17. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.54 and a 1 year high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.