18,200 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Board of the Pension Protection Fund

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000. Kroger makes up approximately 1.3% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 16,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 39,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. 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. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.