Clarius Group LLC Purchases 2,285 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Clarius Group LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 47.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,106 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of KR opened at $58.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.57. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.