Quadrature Capital Ltd Invests $1.12 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 115.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Kroger by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 122,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,755 shares during the last quarter. Forum Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $310,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,270.8% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 76,248 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, 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 value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.96 on Friday, hitting $54.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,552,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,410,368. The firm has a market cap of $39.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.43%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 39.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

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.