First Affirmative Financial Network Sells 656 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First Affirmative Financial Network decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 656 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Kroger were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Roth Mkm upped their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $61.03 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.