First National Bank of Hutchinson Has $3.34 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 87.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,584 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,514 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up approximately 2.0% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $65.46 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 196,285 shares of company stock worth $13,234,959. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.