The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,499 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE KR opened at $55.62 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.05.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

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.