Foundry Partners LLC Sells 43,476 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Foundry Partners LLC cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,476 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises 1.1% of Foundry Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $22,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $70.59 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.72. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $71.05.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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.