The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Raised by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,457 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Melius raised Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 207,793 shares of company stock worth $14,938,358. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.6%

Kroger stock opened at $72.21 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $74.11. The stock has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.