First Hawaiian Bank Acquires New Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $68.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.13 and its 200 day moving average is $64.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 0.44% of the stock is 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.