Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,617 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $598,390,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $123,829,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1,045.0% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,131 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s 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.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $68.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.89.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.86%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.