Duality Advisers LP Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Duality Advisers LP cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,187 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 430.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $56.57. 4,522,756 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,263,365. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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.