The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Lifted by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,799 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $63.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.85. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $66.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.