The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Lowered by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 160,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,014,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 18.5% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,154,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,596,000 after purchasing an additional 211,400 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 83,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,153,000 after buying an additional 31,379 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 892,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,560,000 after buying an additional 51,082 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

Kroger stock opened at $58.34 on Friday. The company 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign 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.