The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Capital Advisors Inc. OK

Capital Advisors Inc. OK decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 98.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 711,626 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Kroger were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 430.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.20 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $52.24 and its 200-day moving average is $47.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KR. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. 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 research note on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.08.

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.