Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 2,993 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,046 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $14,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $55.21 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.56. The company has a market capitalization of $39.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.