LSV Asset Management Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

LSV Asset Management cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,002,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 101,281 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 1.0% of LSV Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. LSV Asset Management owned about 1.25% of Kroger worth $449,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 2.1 %

KR traded down $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.27. 6,632,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,965,830. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.46. The firm has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kroger 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.