The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,377 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,811 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.0% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 18,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $1,200,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.4% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 90,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.0% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 295,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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 Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 7.2 %

KR opened at $55.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

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.