MQS Management LLC Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 10,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 1,966 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Kroger by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 78,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,602,000 after acquiring an additional 48,201 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 261,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 75,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 29,825 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of KR opened at $54.83 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.79. The firm has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.