Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreases the stock position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) by 28.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,111 shares during the period. Holdings of Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. in Kroger were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 80.93% of the shares are held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s shares.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.09.

Get the latest stock analysis on KR

Kroger trading down 2.0%

Shares of KR stock opened at $55.04 on Wednesday. Kroger Co. it has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.78. The stock has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Your Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 0.2% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same quarter last year, the company posted earnings of $0.96 per share. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger raises dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.28 and a yield of 2.33%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Kroger Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug distributor in the United States. The company operates combinations of grocery and drug stores, multi-department stores, market stores and price impact warehouses. Its combined grocery and drug stores offer natural and organic food sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood and organic products; and multi-department stores offer apparel, fashion and home furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive and toys.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds own KR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trading for The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report).

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