O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 25,486 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 361,015 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,486 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $22,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $66.77 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.43. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The stock has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.