Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Cuts Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,483 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $13,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 698.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,456,000 after buying an additional 1,141,029 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.50. 3,117,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,654,938. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.33. The firm has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.93 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

About Kroger

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.