The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Raised by Kwmg LLC

Kwmg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the quarter. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,707 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $671,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $49.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,785,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,234,124. The company has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

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.