Simmons Bank Acquires New Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Simmons Bank bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $63.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.49. 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 $48.21 and a twelve month high of $66.26.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically 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.