Cypress Capital LLC Has $2.88 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cypress Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Kroger comprises about 0.8% of Cypress Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Cypress Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $46.96 and a 12-month high of $66.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.