Huntington National Bank Acquires 6,200 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,742 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth approximately $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

Kroger stock opened at $59.08 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $56.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Argus boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Four research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.