Cvfg LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cvfg LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 4,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 20.0% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,288,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Kroger by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 380,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,023,000 after buying an additional 12,447 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Kroger by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 27,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 87,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after acquiring an additional 15,529 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $58.68 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.26 and its 200-day moving average is $56.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.