The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Elgethun Capital Management

Elgethun Capital Management lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,274 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 1.2% of Elgethun Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Elgethun Capital Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.88. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,349.20. This represents a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.