The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Boosted by Custom Index Systems LLC

Custom Index Systems LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,779 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 74,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,566,000 after purchasing an additional 4,734 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 249.4% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 297,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,214,000 after purchasing an additional 212,608 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Palmer Knight Co lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Palmer Knight Co now owns 107,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,561,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $61.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

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

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.