The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Reduced by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Down 5.2 %

KR stock opened at $67.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.83. 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 $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.