Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,368 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 4.9 %

KR stock opened at $70.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.82 and a 200 day moving average of $60.72. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $71.00. The firm has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Company 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.