Versant Capital Management Inc Has $108,000 Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,759 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 516 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,688,000 after buying an additional 40,914 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,269,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,426,000 after acquiring an additional 281,878 shares during the period. Finally, Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $4,037,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR opened at $61.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.79.

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.