Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 9.2%, holding 87,592 shares valued at approximately $5.93 million.
• Kroger recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.0%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.49, exceeding expectations, though revenue declined by 0.3% year-over-year.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,592 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,353 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.16 on Monday, reaching $69.85. 7,392,295 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,594,552. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

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.