CMC Financial Group Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

CMC Financial Group acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,000. Kroger accounts for approximately 0.5% of CMC Financial Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company's stock worth $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $66.36. 956,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,848,566. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $48.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.21. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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.