Aveo Capital Partners LLC Sells 982 Shares of Kroger Company (The) (KR)

Aveo Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in Kroger Company (The) (NYSE:KR) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 982 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger Company (The) were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Kroger Company (The) by 906.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 211,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,247,000 after buying an additional 190,790 shares in the last quarter. Selway Asset Management purchased a new position in Kroger Company (The) during the first quarter worth approximately $492,000. Holderness Investments Co. purchased a new position in Kroger Company (The) during the first quarter worth approximately $277,000. Hosking Partners LLP raised its position in Kroger Company (The) by 10.2% in the first quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 528,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,580,000 after buying an additional 48,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Kroger Company (The) by 11.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 94,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,775,000 after buying an additional 9,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.33% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company (NYSE KR) remained flat at $22.86 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,969,409 shares. The firm has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.04. Kroger Company has a 52 week low of $20.46 and a 52 week high of $36.44.

Kroger Company (The) (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 15th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.58. The company had revenue of $36.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.69 billion. Kroger Company (The) had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 29.10%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Kroger Company will post $1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Company (The) declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, June 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Kroger Company (The)’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Kroger Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Kroger Company (The) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens started coverage on shares of Kroger Company (The) in a research report on Friday, August 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Vetr upgraded shares of Kroger Company (The) from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $27.01 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on shares of Kroger Company (The) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Kroger Company (The) in a research report on Sunday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.09.

In related news, Director Susan M. Phillips sold 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $131,254.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 124,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,627,302.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider J Michael Schlotman purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.73 per share, for a total transaction of $45,460.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Kroger Company (The)

The Kroger Co (Kroger) manufactures and processes food for sale in its supermarkets. The Company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, jewelry stores and convenience stores throughout the United States. As of January 28, 2017, it had operated approximately 4,000 owned or leased supermarkets, convenience stores, fine jewelry stores, distribution warehouses and food production plants through divisions, subsidiaries or affiliates.