City Center Advisors LLC Cuts Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

City Center Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,712 shares during the period. City Center Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter worth $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Argus increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.96 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month 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 (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.