NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Decreases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 656 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $460,000. Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $57.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 during 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 company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

About Kroger

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.