Summit Global Investments Lowers Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Global Investments cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 107,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,570 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Kroger were worth $6,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $65.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.86. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.