Oxbow Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. 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 this link. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Kroger stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,014,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,134,928. The stock has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.24. 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 50 day moving average of $55.79 and a 200-day moving average of $54.00.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.14%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Kroger 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.