Oxbow Advisors LLC Has $984,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Oxbow Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 83.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,705 shares of the company's stock after selling 98,645 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company's stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company's stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,878,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Argus increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of KR stock traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.27. 6,632,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,965,830. The company has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

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.