TFR Capital LLC. Invests $1.52 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,516,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 53,350.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,335 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded up $1.46 on Monday, reaching $72.04. 2,358,414 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,888,487. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $68.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.31. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.11.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Kroger 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.