CCM Investment Group LLC Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC acquired 31,588 shares of The Kroger Co. valued at approximately $2,108,000 during the 1st quarter of 2023.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.
• Kroger exceeded earnings expectations in its last quarterly report, posting an EPS of $1.49 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45.

CCM Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 31,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,108,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth $41,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.53.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.86 on Tuesday, reaching $73.49. 7,608,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,066,236. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.13.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.