Quent Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,382 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Kroger by 25.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after purchasing an additional 43,143 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 33,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 131.1% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 30,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 17,314 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 85.4% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $65.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.93 and its 200 day moving average is $57.57. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $65.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy 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 stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.