Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 628 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Kroger were worth $2,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.77 and its 200 day moving average is $58.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $46.96 and a 52-week high of $66.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.