AXQ Capital LP Invests $681,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

KR stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.16. The stock had a trading volume of 5,275,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,859,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.16. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KR. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.88.

Kroger 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.