Hosking Partners LLP Trims Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Hosking Partners LLP reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 255,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 739 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $15,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $63.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $48.21 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders 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 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KR. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % 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 three months. Company 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.