Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 2,669 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,986 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,669 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Kroger by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,498,000 after purchasing an additional 26,079 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 121,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,078,000 after purchasing an additional 9,517 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 26,287.1% in the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Kroger by 95.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 11,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Kroger by 698.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.72. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The company has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.14.

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.