Traynor Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,335 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 18,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 143,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 519,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,739,000 after purchasing an additional 216,586 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,554,000 after purchasing an additional 37,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.72. 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 stock has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 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 earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Roth Mkm increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.