The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by IFG Advisory LLC

IFG Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,312 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,993 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 29,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,443,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KR. TheStreet raised Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.45.

Kroger Stock Up 0.9 %

KR stock opened at $56.90 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $57.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

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.