Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Makes New $21.73 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 355,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,734,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth $40,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.14.

Kroger Stock Down 0.4 %

KR opened at $58.78 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. 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 firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.