Cypress Capital LLC Has $2.88 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cypress Capital LLC lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 0.8% of Cypress Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Cypress Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.12. 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 $46.96 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The company has a market cap of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its 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. 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid 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 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.