The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,988 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Up 1.8 %

KR stock opened at $56.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.85. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.