Brookstone Capital Management Lowers Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Brookstone Capital Management reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,537 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $49.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.06 and a 200 day moving average of $50.88. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.25%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

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.