KBC Group NV Purchases 1,949 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 388,644 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Kroger were worth $22,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its position in Kroger by 1.2% during 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 last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 3.2% during the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.10. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $60.35. The firm has a market cap of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value 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. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Company 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.