Phillips Financial Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,509 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Phillips Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 29.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 302,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,279,000 after buying an additional 68,516 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 303.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 19,065 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in Kroger by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 94,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,409,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 13.1% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Kroger by 12.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,384,000 after purchasing an additional 58,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.02 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.