The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Boosted by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 166.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,582 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,866 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Melius Research cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $67.05 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.88. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The stock has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 in the last three months. 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.