The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,011 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Kroger were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,168,000 after buying an additional 498,995 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 7.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,023,000 after buying an additional 78,710 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,005,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,242,000 after buying an additional 10,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,246,000 after buying an additional 50,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3 %

Kroger stock opened at $55.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.