Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 245.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Kroger by 17.8% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 53.9% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 13.3% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 5.9% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 6,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5 %

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

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

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.