Ethos Financial Group LLC Sells 244 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ethos Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $25,000. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 430.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 613.0% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.38 on Thursday, reaching $55.00. 3,481,415 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,838,169. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.87. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.