Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Takes $207,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 4,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5 %

KR traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,815,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,995,348. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $37.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.94.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value 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 is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.