The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Raised by Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,826 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $58.34 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.57. The stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

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.