Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC Makes New $363,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $59.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.