Kimelman & Baird LLC Purchases Shares of 15,300 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $606,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 138,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,338,000 after purchasing an additional 72,731 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 13,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 8,252 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Kroger by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $56.52 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.91.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.