Cypress Capital Group Cuts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cypress Capital Group cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,057 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Kroger were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $62.52 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $66.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.82. The firm has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current 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 buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

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.