Resonant Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.39 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,535 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 430.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,666,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,946,104. The firm has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

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.