O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $22.08 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 361,015 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,486 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $22,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 45,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,708,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $755,000. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $8,577,000. Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Kroger by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 31,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $1,260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $66.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

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.