Souders Financial Advisors Acquires 2,318 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Souders Financial Advisors grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,318 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 4,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,035,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,935,000 after acquiring an additional 144,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 88,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $63.23 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.15 and its 200-day moving average is $58.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

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.