Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 239.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,087 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,312 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.06.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $68.10. 13,986,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,712,643. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.43. The company has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

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.