Stevens Capital Management LP Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 29,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $1,047,389.17. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $65.38 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.91.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.