Bremer Bank National Association Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bremer Bank National Association bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 66,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its position in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $52.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,910,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,031,523. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $38.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.68.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.72%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.