The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Position Raised by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 209.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,928 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,196 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KR. Argus raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $55.39 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend 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.