Versant Capital Management Inc Has $53,000 Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 676.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,064 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $53,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.13. 4,503,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,089,286. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.