The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Increased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,499 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $55.62 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.05. The company has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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.