Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 1,469 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,517 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,469 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3 %

KR opened at $55.36 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.88. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

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.