Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys 21,000 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 100.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Kroger by 337.4% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 922,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,060,000 after acquiring an additional 711,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Kroger by 86.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,274,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,840,000 after acquiring an additional 590,818 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $53.21. 4,417,168 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,972,057. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.25. The company has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.