The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 24.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,596 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Kroger by 6.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,000 after buying an additional 6,797 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 141.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,130 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $287,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 5.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 33,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.08 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 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 company has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. BNP Paribas initiated 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.