Field & Main Bank Invests $45,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.28. 1,008,060 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,845,969. The company has a market cap of $39.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.40 and a 200-day moving average of $48.37.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus 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.