Brookwood Investment Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Brookwood Investment Group LLC has made a new investment of $328,000 in The Kroger Co., purchasing 4,850 shares in the first quarter according to a recent SEC filing.
• In the fourth quarter, several hedge funds increased their stakes in Kroger, with 80.93% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Kroger recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, reflecting a 1.96% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 34.88%.

Brookwood Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 9,507 shares of the company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $1,077,000. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 123,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,273 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 16,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Goodwin Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Barclays started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.16.

Kroger Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:KR traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.47. 3,396,261 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,760,720. The firm's fifty day moving average is $69.31 and its 200-day moving average is $67.05. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.