The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Lifeworks Advisors LLC

Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 70.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,511 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $66.81 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $67.57. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.50.

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.