JCP Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,500 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises approximately 6.2% of JCP Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. JCP Investment Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $10,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock worth $478,768,000 after acquiring an additional 916,230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.06.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on KR
Kroger Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $72.00 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $68.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.45. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.
Kroger Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
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.
Before you consider Kroger, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Kroger wasn't on the list.
While Kroger currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Which stocks are likely to thrive in today's challenging market? Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that will drive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
