Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC Grows Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 74.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,384 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,417 shares during the quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,168,000 after buying an additional 498,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.4% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,640,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,872,000 after purchasing an additional 322,040 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Kroger by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,922,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,355,000 after purchasing an additional 535,244 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Kroger by 7.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,551,000 after purchasing an additional 511,978 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Kroger by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552,989 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $55.26. 6,182,722 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,994,512. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.43 and its 200 day moving average is $47.56. The company has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.