Sowell Financial Services LLC Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,845 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 53,350.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,335 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $282,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 of $62.27 and a 200 day moving average of $59.04. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $67.57.

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

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

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.