Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,042 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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 Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.10. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $60.35. The stock has a market cap of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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 company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

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.