Keybank National Association OH Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Keybank National Association OH increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,410 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. M&G PLC grew its position in Kroger by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 462,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,341,000 after purchasing an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares during the period. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $67.57. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.95.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

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

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.