First Hawaiian Bank Grows Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,412 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

KR traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,542,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,069,910. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.36. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.