Sciencast Management LP Cuts Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sciencast Management LP cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 41.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,044 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $515,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mindset Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.37 and a 200-day moving average of $59.86. The firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve 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.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.