The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the period. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $53.21. 4,417,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,963,817. The company has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.