Capital Investment Counsel Inc Reduces Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the first 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 increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.04. 5,303,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,008,865. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $37.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.