Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 4,596 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,596 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,707 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Kroger by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 38,119 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 239.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 168,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,519,000 after acquiring an additional 118,581 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Kroger by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,175,000 after purchasing an additional 115,264 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 23.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,183,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,716,000 after purchasing an additional 412,372 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4 %

KR stock opened at $57.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.55. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $57.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. TheStreet upgraded Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Stephens lowered their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.64.

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.