The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Trimmed by Quent Capital LLC

Quent Capital LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 13,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 8,252 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 64,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,963,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 50,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 78,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 128,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,881,000 after buying an additional 10,260 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $55.89 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

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.