Ascent Group LLC Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 270.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,094 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,547 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 255.6% during 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 during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,178,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,140,519. The company has a market cap of $39.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.01. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.45%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend 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.