The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of KR opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.65. The company has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.39.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently 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.