Signal Advisors Wealth LLC Sells 4,493 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,493 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 39,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in Kroger by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.74 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.44. The firm has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger 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.