Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted 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 raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR opened at $57.61 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $42.54 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The stock has a market cap of $41.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.17.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger 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.