PFG Investments LLC Takes $379,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Kroger by 8.1% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Kroger by 37.6% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 48,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after buying an additional 13,123 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Kroger by 7.1% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 208,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,309,000 after acquiring an additional 8,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last 90 days. 1.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.38. 4,464,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,888,630. The stock has a market cap of $39.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.45. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one 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.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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.