Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,596 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,126,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,642,000 after buying an additional 2,552,989 shares during the period. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,523,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $71,410,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $42,220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $57.11 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $57.36. The stock has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KR. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.64.

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.