Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Acquires 250 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 101.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 496 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,739,000 after purchasing an additional 118,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $50.43 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.93 and its 200-day moving average is $51.02. The stock has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.15%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

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.