The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 100.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. W Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

KR stock traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.21. 4,417,168 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,972,057. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.