Mitchell Capital Management Co. Makes New $5.87 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mitchell Capital Management Co. bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 95,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,870,000. Kroger accounts for 1.0% of Mitchell Capital Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Up 1.4 %

Kroger stock opened at $64.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.08 and its 200-day moving average is $58.61. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.21 and a fifty-two week high of $66.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

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.