Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $1.20 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,200,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 337.4% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 922,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,060,000 after buying an additional 711,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,194,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,333,000 after acquiring an additional 668,440 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE KR opened at $52.30 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $37.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.56. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Argus raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.