The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Lessened by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,361 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,236 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $46.96 and a 12-month high of $66.18.

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

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KR. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

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.