WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires 87,762 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1,131.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,522 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,762 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,066,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,569,000 after purchasing an additional 85,997 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Clune & Associates LTD. bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $733,000. CMC Financial Group acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.16.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade 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 worth $15,001,418 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.