EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Has $131,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,142 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $1,967,114.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 103,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,861,803.52. The trade was a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,040 shares of company stock worth $12,805,838. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.