The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Increased by Gallacher Capital Management LLC

Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,766 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,842 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. SouthState Corp raised its position in Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 430.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 613.0% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $54.78. The stock had a trading volume of 4,937,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,941. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last 90 days. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

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.