EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Has $131,000 Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,142 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Kroger by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 12,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,768,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $1,967,114.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares in the company, valued at $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,040 shares of company stock worth $12,805,838. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.