Yousif Capital Management LLC Purchases 14,723 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,314 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,723 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $496,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,165,000 after purchasing an additional 38,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 487,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $55.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.08 and a 200-day moving average of $48.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.