Park Capital Management LLC WI Invests $1 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Park Capital Management LLC WI bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,000. Kroger accounts for about 1.2% of Park Capital Management LLC WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.64. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $45.17 and a twelve month high of $65.83. The company has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.