Mengis Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $64.80 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $47.15 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The stock has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.82 and a 200 day moving average of $58.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

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.