Steadfast Capital Management LP Makes New $277.99 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,546,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,989,000. Kroger accounts for 5.7% of Steadfast Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 19,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 33,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 33,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96% 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 valued at $22,867,124. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of KR stock opened at $68.79 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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.