The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 79.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,368 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 10,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 160,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,349,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

Kroger stock opened at $56.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.