Mariner Investment Group LLC Takes $1.22 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,000. Kroger comprises approximately 0.2% of Mariner Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $58.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG 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. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.17 and its 200 day moving average is $56.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger 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.