V Square Quantitative Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,472 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.35 on Friday, hitting $56.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 314,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,811,954. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Kroger Company 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.