Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 2,993 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 295,046 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $14,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $55.21 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Company 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.