Capital Performance Advisors LLP Invests $43,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 102.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 23,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at about $595,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 51.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 841,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,062,000 after purchasing an additional 285,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $59.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.99. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.24. The stock has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. 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 data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Argus raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.