Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes $208,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

KR opened at $58.34 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.57. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price 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, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

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.