Winebrenner Capital Management LLC Invests $213,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.12. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $46.96 and a 1-year high of $66.18.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were 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 owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.