SteelPeak Wealth LLC Raises Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,859 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 66,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth $317,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 7.4% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 25,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of KR traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.93. The company had a trading volume of 751,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,749,151. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.87. The stock has a market cap of $40.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results 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 for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.