SVB Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SVB Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 203,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,153 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 29,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 6,764 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Kroger by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,443,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $55.26 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

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.