The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 79.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,368 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the second 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 grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the first 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 grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings 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 last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 0.5 %

KR stock opened at $56.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

About Kroger

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.