Spring Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Spring Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 83,002 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for about 3.0% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $1,113,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $58.34 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.48. The stock has a market cap of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’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 value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.