State of Alaska Department of Revenue Buys 4,950 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,898 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,950 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Kroger by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after purchasing an additional 43,143 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 135,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,751,000 after buying an additional 7,715 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $300,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 33,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Kroger by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.49 and a twelve month high of $65.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.36. The company has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

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.