Axecap Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Axecap Investments LLC acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,081,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 49.7% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,642 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 65.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 4,235 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 2.1 %

KR stock opened at $57.62 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.86. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

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.