KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $22.78 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 372,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,780,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.05% of Kroger at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.91. 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 earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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.