Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Purchases New Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $54.33 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.23. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.42%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.