McIlrath & Eck LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 220.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,888 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. 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. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $60.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.65. The stock has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $61.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Kroger Company 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.