Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 793 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,264 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after buying an additional 503,839 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,739,000 after acquiring an additional 118,209 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $52.49 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.36. The stock has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.75%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.