Gill Capital Partners LLC Sells 85,487 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Gill Capital Partners LLC lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 200,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,487 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for 4.4% of Gill Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Gill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $58.34 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KR. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.