Amalgamated Bank Cuts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 167,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,978 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 306,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,000,000 after acquiring an additional 27,711 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 104,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,769,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,672,000 after acquiring an additional 235,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.6 %

Kroger stock opened at $54.78 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Company 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.