SouthState Corp Acquires 458 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SouthState Corp increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 334.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 595 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,619,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 378.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,988,000 after purchasing an additional 605,591 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,364,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,814,000 after purchasing an additional 548,240 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Guggenheim raised 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. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $54.78 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.61. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related 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 transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related 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 transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Company 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.