Bank OZK Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Bank OZK boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,153 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,651 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 176,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,770,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 57,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $69.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.43. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.53.

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.