Allstate Corp Makes New $1.26 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 20,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

KR stock opened at $66.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.