The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Lifted by Fortitude Family Office LLC

Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,081 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $66,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a market capitalization of $42.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.