J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Buys 360 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,299 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 360 shares during the quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following 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 3.89 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $58.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.11. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.