First National Bank of Hutchinson Has $3.34 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 87.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,584 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,514 shares during the period. Kroger comprises approximately 2.0% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 196,285 shares of company stock valued at $13,234,959. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

KR opened at $65.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.74. 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 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.