The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,638 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Kroger by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. 1900 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $350,000. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded down $1.31 on Tuesday, reaching $55.62. The stock had a trading volume of 5,146,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,960,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.05.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued 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 2.09%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.