Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 168,866 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its Kroger stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 168,866 shares but still holding more than 4.1 million shares worth about $258.7 million.
• Kroger beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $1.28 per share versus the $1.20 consensus, though revenue came in slightly below estimates at $34.73 billion.
• The company continues to reward shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share and remains well supported by analysts, who currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $74.73.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,140,227 shares of the company's stock after selling 168,866 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.65% of Kroger worth $258,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $324,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 90,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,675,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Lcnb Corp increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 17,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,107,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 72,272 shares of the company's stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 27,073 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:KR opened at $62.27 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $67.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.65. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $58.60 and a 52 week high of $76.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $38.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.42.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.73.

Kroger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger launched a limited-time All-American Ice Cream Collection and is giving away 100,000 free pints for the summer solstice, a marketing push that could lift store traffic and highlight the strength of its private-label business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a groundbreaking for a new store in Nicholasville, Kentucky, signaling ongoing footprint expansion and investment in growth markets. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger’s CEO said the “basket has to come down” as the chain plans major price cuts to compete more aggressively with Walmart and Costco. That could help traffic, but it also points to margin pressure if discounts are broad-based. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger is also rolling out digital price tags across nearly all local stores, a technology upgrade that could improve pricing efficiency but has drawn some controversy from shoppers. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also digesting reports that Kroger agreed to a multimillion-dollar federal settlement tied to refrigerant and Clean Air Act issues, including spending about $100 million on refrigerator fixes plus a fine, which could pressure near-term earnings. Article Title

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co NYSE: KR is one of the largest supermarket operators in the United States, offering a wide range of retail grocery and related services. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates a portfolio of supermarket and multi-department store banners and provides customers with fresh foods, packaged groceries, deli and bakery items, meat and seafood, produce, and prepared foods. Kroger's stores commonly include pharmacy services and fuel centers, positioning the company as a broad-based neighborhood retail destination for everyday needs.

In addition to traditional in-store retailing, Kroger manufactures and distributes a variety of private-label brands and operates its own food production and supply-chain facilities.

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