4,495 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by OneAscent Wealth Management LLC

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Kroger by 303.1% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 19,065 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.1% in the 1st 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. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,384,000 after purchasing an additional 58,580 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its holdings in Kroger by 129.1% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 78,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after buying an additional 44,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam raised its stake in Kroger by 163.2% during the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 172,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,877,000 after buying an additional 107,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 for the company. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. 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 target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

Kroger stock opened at $58.06 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.31 and a 12-month high of $60.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.