Lifeworks Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 32.7% during the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 5.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 33,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Kroger by 0.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 388,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,269,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Kroger by 10.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 67,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.08 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.07. The company has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.