D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,421 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 2.7% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.99. 6,276,910 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,995,606. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.64. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors 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 2.19%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.