Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires 4,417 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 74.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,384 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,417 shares during the quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 17,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.26. The company had a trading volume of 6,182,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,994,512. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.