Foundry Partners LLC Has $15.93 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Foundry Partners LLC decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,585 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,721 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 1.0% of Foundry Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Foundry Partners LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $15,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company's stock worth $1,014,168,000 after acquiring an additional 498,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,640,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,872,000 after buying an additional 322,040 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,922,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $442,355,000 after buying an additional 535,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,642,000 after buying an additional 2,552,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. BNP Paribas reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,522,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,263,365. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.87. The firm has a market cap of $40.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Kroger 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.

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