Haverford Trust Co Has $476,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Haverford Trust Co raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,304 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 162,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,325,000 after buying an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 51,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $680,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.9% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.16 and a 200-day moving average of $54.07. The stock has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

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.