Islay Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 23,346 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 29.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 302,444 shares of the company's stock worth $17,279,000 after purchasing an additional 68,516 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 303.1% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 19,065 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.3% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 94,684 shares of the company's stock worth $5,409,000 after buying an additional 5,591 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.1% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the company's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company's stock worth $29,384,000 after buying an additional 58,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

KR stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,413,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,679,139. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.31 and a 52 week high of $60.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $56.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.13.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.