DnB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,065 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,524.40. This trade represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.