Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,847 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.24 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $47.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $45.17 and a 12 month high of $65.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.83 and its 200 day moving average is $57.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

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.