Oxbow Advisors LLC Sells 2,498 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Oxbow Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,498 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $566,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $46.96 and a 12-month high of $66.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.12.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on KR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.