Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Purchases Shares of 130,653 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 130,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,524,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 42,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 16,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 465,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,228,000 after buying an additional 122,040 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $10,336,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. 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 report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $56.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.