The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,039 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $55.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.69.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.09.

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.