Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 47.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,191 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Souders Financial Advisors grew its stake in Kroger by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 10,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,921 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Kroger by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 8,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 162,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Barnett & Company Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 51,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $58.58 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.97 and a 1 year high of $60.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.21. 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 market capitalization of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.