The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,154,946 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 211,400 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.30% of Kroger worth $107,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st 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. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.09.

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.