Swedbank AB Buys 88,844 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 626,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,844 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.09% of Kroger worth $38,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,279,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD increased its stake in Kroger by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 10,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,628 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,062,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value 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. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $61.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.33 and its 200 day moving average is $56.99. The stock has a market cap of $44.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.80.

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.