Summit Global Investments Has $2.35 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 218.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,132 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,350 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Kroger were worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Kroger by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 219,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,039,000 after acquiring an additional 101,989 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 73,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after acquiring an additional 15,683 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 106,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.04. 5,303,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,008,865. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.90. The company has a market capitalization of $37.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.