Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Acquires 3,468 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 290,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after acquiring an additional 64,000 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 578,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,184,000 after buying an additional 57,352 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,397,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,696,000 after buying an additional 43,845 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Kroger by 70.6% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 1,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total value of $218,404.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.50, for a total value of $279,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,090 shares in the company, valued at $2,050,185. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total value of $218,404.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,798 shares of company stock valued at $1,542,985. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $44.52 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.62 and a one year high of $50.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 8th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $33.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.12 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.61% and a net margin of 1.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.57.

About Kroger

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.