GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New $620,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $620,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. IFC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.6% during the first quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.3% during the first quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the company's stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $71.42 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The stock has a market cap of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.42 and a 200-day moving average of $67.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,788,314. The trade was a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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