Xponance Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,447 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,477 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,617.56. This represents a 11.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 196,285 shares of company stock worth $13,234,959 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped 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. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE KR opened at $65.46 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The company has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.