Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Decreases Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 612 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $63.91 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $66.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.