OneAscent Financial Services LLC Makes New $249,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in Kroger by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 15,048 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.11 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.31 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.15.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share 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 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.