The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Hemington Wealth Management

by · The Cerbat Gem

Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) by 22.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,848 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 342 shares during the quarter. Hemington Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $71.74 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.60. The company has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $50.69 and a 1 year high of $74.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.16.

View Our Latest Report on KR

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

(Free Report)

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.

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