Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 159,351 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 184.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 245,616 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,351 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $15,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 186,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after acquiring an additional 16,425 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 84,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $65.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.43. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.49 and a 52-week high of $65.75.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.