Elgethun Capital Management Sells 2,274 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Elgethun Capital Management cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,274 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.2% of Elgethun Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Elgethun Capital Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,449,000 after purchasing an additional 9,430 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 15.2% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the 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 owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.05 on Monday. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.88. The stock has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.