EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 210.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,238 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,008 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Kroger Trading Up 5.1 %

KR stock opened at $60.74 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $43.51 and a 12 month high of $61.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.81 and its 200 day moving average is $54.65. The company has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.