Bank OZK Raises Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bank OZK raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,502 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE KR opened at $64.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $66.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.57. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

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.