Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 3,026 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,026 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 430.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.83.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.