US Bancorp DE Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

US Bancorp DE raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 644,105 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Kroger were worth $29,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the fourth 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. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in 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. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 17,380 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased 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 purchasing an additional 115,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Kroger by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 102,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,671,000 after buying an additional 37,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.6 %

KR stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,276,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,995,606. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on KR shares. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company 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, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.