15,524 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Acquired by Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Kroger by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 9,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,464,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,888,630. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.