Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 22,946 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 92.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,881 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,946 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $72.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, 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 transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is 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.