Spring Capital Management LLC Sells 1,004 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Spring Capital Management LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up approximately 2.9% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,126,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Kroger by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552,989 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,523,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,410,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,220,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $56.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.53 and its 200-day moving average is $46.48. The company has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $57.26.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Kroger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.64.

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.