The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,744 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.58 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.35. The company has a market capitalization of $43.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. 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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 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.