MCF Advisors LLC Has $69,000 Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

MCF Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Guggenheim upped 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

Kroger stock opened at $56.93 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

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.