KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 372,525 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 372,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,780,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $566,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on KR. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.91.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Company 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.