Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton decreased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Kroger were worth $152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.
Read Our Latest Analysis on KR
Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger
In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger 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 directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This 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 worth $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Kroger Stock Up 0.7 %
KR stock opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.44.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm 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%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.
See Also
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