FNY Investment Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 5,000 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.54 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % 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 currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Roth Mkm boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

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.