Crewe Advisors LLC Invests $151,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 20,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.30. The company had a trading volume of 3,206,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,172,484. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.87. The stock has a market cap of $38.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.28 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.59%.

Kroger Company 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.