Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 321 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $54.17. 1,301,751 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,183,705. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.45%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,867 shares of company stock valued at $2,170,956 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.