51,217 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by True North Advisors LLC

True North Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 51,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,132,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.14.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.72. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.