J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. Royal Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $252,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 94.3% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 23,427 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $55.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.05. The company has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for 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%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.