The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Raised by Natixis

Natixis increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 129.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,286 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,118 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Kroger were worth $4,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $671,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $53.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $38.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.07 and its 200-day moving average is $51.87. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.57%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.