The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Kintegral Advisory LLC

Kintegral Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,318 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $566,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:KR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $61.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $46.96 and a 1-year high of $66.18.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.