Financial Advocates Investment Management Lowers Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in Kroger by 0.4% during the fourth 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. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in Kroger by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

KR stock opened at $65.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.49 and a 52 week high of $65.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.46. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger 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.