Bank OZK Acquires 1,743 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bank OZK grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,743 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Mkm boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $64.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.57. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $48.21 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The company has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.