&Partners Makes New $417,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

&Partners bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its stake in Kroger by 334.3% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $51.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.