Family Firm Inc. Purchases New Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, 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 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 approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.