Mendel Capital Management LLC Buys 287 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,846 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up 1.2% of Mendel Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Mendel Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 103,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,351,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Rinkey Investments bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its position in Kroger by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 27,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $1,296,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $70.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.35. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average 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.