Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,000 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,863,000. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th 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. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,619,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 378.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,988,000 after purchasing an additional 605,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.56 on Wednesday, reaching $50.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,836,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,273,257. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.06. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.04%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by 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.