PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 205,421 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,190 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $11,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % 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 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.23. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The company has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.16%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.