Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kovack Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.0% in the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Kroger by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 48,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 13,123 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of Kroger by 7.1% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.5% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 208,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,309,000 after buying an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

KR stock opened at $55.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.