McIlrath & Eck LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 220.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,888 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,988 shares during the quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 5.6% in the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $60.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $43.51 and a twelve month high of $61.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

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.