Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 73.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 86,265 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,660 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 698.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S lifted its stake in Kroger by 35.1% during the second quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,029 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $58.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $60.35.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.