OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Purchases New Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $59.58 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.03. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $60.35.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Argus increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last three months. 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.