The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 93.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,583 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.7% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Kroger by 0.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 65,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 300,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,903,175. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.05. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

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.