Railway Pension Investments Ltd Increases Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,286,710 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,600 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned approximately 0.18% of Kroger worth $73,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. W Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.76 on Friday, reaching $54.33. 4,284,804 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,950,304. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.