National Bank of Canada FI Buys 668,440 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 127.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,194,137 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 668,440 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.17% of Kroger worth $60,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Kroger by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $671,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $53.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.39. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

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.