Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires New Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 430.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 613.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, 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. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE KR opened at $55.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.40 and a 200-day moving average of $48.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $40.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

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.