5 Best Defensive Stocks Under $50

1. The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49

Share Price as of August 23: $49.53

On June 23, The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share, up 23.8% from its prior dividend of $0.21. The dividend is payable on September 1 to investors of record at the close of business on August 15. The company has been growing its dividends for the past 15 years and has a 5-year dividend growth rate of 12.91%. As of August 23, The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shares have gained 9.83% year-to-date and offer a forward dividend yield of 2.08%, which the company supports with free cash flows of $2.49 billion.

Wall Street is bullish on The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR). On June 17, Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai raised her price target on The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) to $53 from $50 and reiterated a ‘Hold’ rating on the shares. On June 21, MKM Partners analyst Bill Kirk raised his price target on The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) to $55 from $48 and reiterated a ‘Neutral’ rating on the shares.

At the close of Q2 2022, 49 hedge funds were bullish on The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), holding KR stakes worth $4.30 billion. This is compared to 45 positions in the preceding quarter with stakes worth $5.16 billion. As of June 30, Berkshire Hathaway owns 52.4 million shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) and is the top shareholder in the company. The investment covers 0.82% of Warren Buffett’s 13F portfolio.

You can also take a look at 6 Defensive Stocks to Buy in 2022 According to Seth Klarman and 10 Defensive Stocks in Billionaire Ray Dalio’s Latest Portfolio.

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