Old Port Advisors Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Old Port Advisors purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in 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 grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 2.0 %

KR opened at $55.99 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.87. The firm has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.