Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $389,000 Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,783 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $56.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. 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 capitalization of $40.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

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.