Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $52.72 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 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.