Auxier Asset Management Sells 275 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Auxier Asset Management lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 368,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 3.1% of Auxier Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $21,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $67,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $210,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,900,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Kroger by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 123,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,044,000 after purchasing an additional 6,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $60.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.31 and a 200-day moving average of $54.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $61.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on KR. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Four equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.55.

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.