Huntington National Bank Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,257 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $64.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.39.

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.