The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) is Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s Largest Position

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 350,418 shares of the company’s stock after selling 611 shares during the period. Kroger comprises about 4.2% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $20,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were 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. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,191,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,593,407. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.09%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

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.