Lakeside Advisors INC. Trims Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lakeside Advisors INC. cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 1.1% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was 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 the SEC website. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $55.23 and a 200 day moving average of $53.91. The firm has a market cap of $40.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.