Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in Kroger by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Seven equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.
Kroger Stock Down 0.7 %
Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $45.88 and a 12-month high of $66.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.75.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Kroger Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.
Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
About Kroger
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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