Rik Saylor Financial Inc. Makes New $276,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Rik Saylor Financial Inc. bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised 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 valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Kroger by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, 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 have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 2.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $65.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 2.90 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.25. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $65.64.

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

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.06.

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.