Game Creek Capital LP Grows Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Game Creek Capital LP boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises 1.4% of Game Creek Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Game Creek Capital LP's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Kroger by 0.7% during 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Melius downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. This trade represents a 56.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.87. 659,434 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,628,375. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.57. 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 company has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

About Kroger

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.