Fifth Third Bancorp Has $4.19 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 61.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108,675 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger 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 transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.68 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.83. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Kroger Company 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.