Alaethes Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,584 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 37,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,038,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1,045.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,553,000 after buying an additional 1,426,131 shares during the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,963,000. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 18,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.86. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company 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%. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Melius cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.