Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $334,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,298 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 106,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,867,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 73,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 11,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 219,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,039,000 after purchasing an additional 101,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $56.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.83. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.