Lakeside Advisors INC. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lakeside Advisors INC. lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 798 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up about 1.2% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $64.41 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.08. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $46.96 and a 1-year high of $66.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

About Kroger

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.