AGF Management Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,811 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $55.21 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.56.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger Company 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.