Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 244 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,964 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $2,859,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 71,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,371,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,341,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,581,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $67.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.15. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.94.

About Kroger

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.