River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,719,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 342,525 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $78,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.26. 4,193,279 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,970,706. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.