Ranmore Fund Management Ltd Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ranmore Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 156,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,539,000. Kroger comprises approximately 8.8% of Ranmore Fund Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.05 on Monday. 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 $71.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.88.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.