The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Cut by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of 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 boosted its position in Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 430.8% during 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 613.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $55.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

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.