Trilogy Capital Inc. Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 6,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded up $0.56 on Friday, reaching $49.93. 6,628,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,558,777. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.93. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.25%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

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.