Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $832,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 49.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,601 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,108 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.31.

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

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $1,047,389.17. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,846,648.55. The trade was a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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, Bank of America increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.