The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Lifted by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,392 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.04 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.78. The stock has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. 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 one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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 research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.09.

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.