BCGM Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,855 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 15,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 5,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 16,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

KR opened at $65.03 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $46.96 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.26. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

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.