Candlestick Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 849,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,963,000. Kroger comprises 1.2% of Candlestick Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Candlestick Capital Management LP owned 0.12% of Kroger as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.06.

Kroger Stock Down 0.0 %

KR traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.20. The company had a trading volume of 5,496,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,597,045. The business's fifty day moving average price is $67.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.63. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The company has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.