DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,954,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,637 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.27% of Kroger worth $109,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $57.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.86.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.