Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Sells 2,290 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,290 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for about 2.6% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 430.8% in the third 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, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.64.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $57.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.55. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $57.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

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.