DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 1,645 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,065 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seven research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $66.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.