11,133 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $65.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, 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 quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.91.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.