B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 286 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,795,000 after buying an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.31.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,438 shares of company stock valued at $11,657,598 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $60.89 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.09. The stock has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger 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.