Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Buys New Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 14,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $458,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 16,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.49. 3,472,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,160,883. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

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.