Swedbank AB Boosts Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Swedbank AB raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 626,713 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,844 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Kroger were worth $38,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $61.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The company has a market cap of $44.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.