Park Capital Management LLC WI Purchases New Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Park Capital Management LLC WI purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 16,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,000. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.2% of Park Capital Management LLC WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $45.17 and a 12 month high of $65.83. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.64.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.