The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,727 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $58.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $56.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.15. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.31 and a fifty-two week high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during 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 revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas started 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.