5,029 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,707 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 49.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 38,119 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,143,000 after acquiring an additional 17,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,175,000 after acquiring an additional 115,264 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kroger Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.16. 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 $40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 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.