Citigroup Inc. Sells 452,924 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 47.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 494,899 shares of the company’s stock after selling 452,924 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.07% of Kroger worth $28,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $6,524,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5 %

Kroger stock opened at $60.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.25. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.97 and a 52-week high of $60.58. The firm has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.27.

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.