The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Islay Capital Management LLC

Islay Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,324 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Kroger by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $222,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,449,000 after acquiring an additional 9,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Kroger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $67.05 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $71.93. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.79. The company has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.