Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Invests $225,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Home Federal Bank of Tennessee bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.4% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $1,081,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 49.7% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 4,642 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE KR traded down $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $55.77. 239,810 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,787,159. The company has a market cap of $40.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.84.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

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.