Summit Global Investments Trims Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Global Investments trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,187 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Kroger were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 430.8% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 613.0% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $54.78 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

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 business had revenue of $37.06 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, 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 value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research 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. 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 report on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.