Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Trims Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 64.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,403 shares of the company's stock after selling 233,358 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP's holdings in Kroger were worth $7,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company's stock worth $50,688,000 after buying an additional 40,914 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 160,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,211,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Kroger by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 144,317 shares of the company's stock worth $8,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 510.2% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,556 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:KR traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,941,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,700,566. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.51 and a 200-day moving average of $63.62.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $754,370.19. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.06.

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.