CMC Financial Group Takes $240,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

CMC Financial Group bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000. Kroger comprises approximately 0.5% of CMC Financial Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.38 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.95. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.