Yousif Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 135,314 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,723 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Kroger by 10.7% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 18.2% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,743 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Kroger by 49.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 38,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 487,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $55.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.