Lakeside Advisors INC. Decreases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lakeside Advisors INC. lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for 1.0% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 430.8% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

KR traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.28. 6,182,765 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,298,171. The firm has a market cap of $39.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.