The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,727 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Kroger by 303.1% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 19,065 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 13.1% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Kroger by 12.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,384,000 after acquiring an additional 58,580 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in Kroger by 129.1% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 78,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,472,000 after acquiring an additional 44,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $151,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KR opened at $58.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.31 and a one year 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.15.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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 started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last quarter. 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.