Fluent Financial LLC Has $4.81 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fluent Financial LLC grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 96,315 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Kroger comprises approximately 2.4% of Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 337.4% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 922,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,060,000 after purchasing an additional 711,600 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 127.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,194,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,333,000 after purchasing an additional 668,440 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. 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 report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Down 1.6 %

KR traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.52. 776,037 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,935,566. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $37.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.39.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

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.