Nwam LLC Purchases New Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Nwam LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 9,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 196 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $60.35. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.22.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.