Oarsman Capital Inc. Acquires 2,169 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,574 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.6% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,449,000 after acquiring an additional 9,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $67.05 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

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.