Intrust Bank NA Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,350 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $1,260,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 121,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $468,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 43,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $66.77 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.31.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.