The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by CoreCap Advisors LLC

CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,628 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

KR stock opened at $72.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.19. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given 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 yield of 1.77%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.