The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 41.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,484 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.8% during 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 boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of KR opened at $55.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for 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%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.