The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Position Reduced by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 438 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,874,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,012,219. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.82. The firm has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.