By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
RDA Financial Network increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,702 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network’s holdings in Kroger were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KR
Kroger Price Performance
NYSE KR opened at $58.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.46. 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 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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