Sanctuary Advisors LLC Increases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,796 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,381 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 179,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,037,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 220.9% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA grew its position in shares of Kroger by 246.5% in the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 50,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 36,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Kroger by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 461,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,439,000 after acquiring an additional 31,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $62.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.89. The stock has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $63.59. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.31.

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.