Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL Purchases 356 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,187 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 356 shares during the quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL’s holdings in Kroger were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $1,081,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 65.3% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 4,235 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,434,000. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 15,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on KR shares. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Argus upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.78. The company had a trading volume of 759,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,768,880. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.68 and its 200-day moving average is $53.86. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Kroger

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.