Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $910,000 Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Simplicity Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,908 shares of the company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,707 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,165,000 after purchasing an additional 38,119 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 239.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 168,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,519,000 after purchasing an additional 118,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,175,000 after purchasing an additional 115,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 0.2 %

KR stock opened at $55.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.63 and a 200-day moving average of $47.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.