Keystone Financial Group Has $688,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Keystone Financial Group lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,098 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares during the quarter. Keystone Financial Group’s holdings in Kroger were worth $688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $68.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.68 and a 200-day moving average of $61.38. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.