CreativeOne Wealth LLC Purchases 14,519 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 134.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,358 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,519 shares during the quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 322 shares during the period. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.34. 838,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,142,187. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.07 and a 200-day moving average of $51.87. The stock has a market cap of $39.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

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.