3,324 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Wynn Capital LLC

Wynn Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1,172.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 20,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 18,671 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 826,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,243,000 after acquiring an additional 134,062 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 79.8% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 6.4% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.7 %

KR stock opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.44.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

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.