McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.64. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $45.17 and a 1-year high of $65.83. The firm has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

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.