Shelton Capital Management Grows Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Shelton Capital Management grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1,633.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,422 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,301 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,640,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,872,000 after buying an additional 322,040 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at about $622,480,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,881,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,379,000 after buying an additional 148,288 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Kroger by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,922,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,355,000 after purchasing an additional 535,244 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Kroger by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552,989 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.98% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $42.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.70 and its 200 day moving average is $46.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.50. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $50.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 8th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $33.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.12 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 30.61%. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 51.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total transaction of $218,404.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total transaction of $218,404.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 23,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.46, for a total transaction of $1,045,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 194,956 shares in the company, valued at $8,862,699.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,798 shares of company stock worth $1,542,985 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.