Mengis Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $66.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

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.