Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $365,000 Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,368 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 15,048 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.10.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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 company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

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

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.