Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 6,018 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679,238 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,018 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.09% of Kroger worth $41,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.03. The company had a trading volume of 8,847,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,539,797. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $66.78 and its 200-day moving average is $62.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 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.