3,421 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 1.3 %

Kroger stock opened at $61.13 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

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.