The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Increased by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,412 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,196 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.67.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $61.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.70. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $62.03.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

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.