15,524 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Acquired by Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,599 shares of the company's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 19,000 shares of the company's stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Kroger by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 9,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,464,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,888,630. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.45. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.17.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.