Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 74.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,491 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,344 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE KR opened at $68.79 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.78. The stock has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.06.

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.