First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 8,037 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Posted by on Feb 15th, 2023

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 91.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,037 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew 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 last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,443,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 4th. MKM Partners reduced their price target on Kroger from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Kroger from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.18.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total value of $275,773.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,870.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $1,903,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 135,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,498.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,779 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $275,773.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $253,870.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $43.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.04 and a 200-day moving average of $46.27. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $41.81 and a one year high of $62.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $31.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 1st. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 1.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 32.50%.

About Kroger

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The Kroger Co engages in the operation of supermarkets and multi-department stores. Its brands include Big K, Check This Out?, Heritage Farm, Simple Truth, and Simple Truth Organic. The company was founded by Barney Kroger in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Kroger (NYSE:KR)

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