ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.
A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mindset Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 335.4% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,667 shares of the company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.88.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Kroger
Kroger Stock Performance
KR stock traded up $1.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.06. The company had a trading volume of 4,745,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,854,786. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.12. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.94%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.
Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
About Kroger
(
Free Report)
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.
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