Whitener Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,173 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $212,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 14.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 185,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,575,000 after acquiring an additional 22,946 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.7% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $296,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.86 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued 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 2.26%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.