Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 3,650 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th 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. Keybank National Association OH grew 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 worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $66.16 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.