The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc boosted its position in Kroger by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 816,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,326,000 after purchasing an additional 144,448 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $515,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 106,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

KR stock opened at $56.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.96. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

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.