The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Reduced by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,080 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 3.0% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 18.5% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 60.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 83,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,153,000 after acquiring an additional 31,379 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 892,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,560,000 after purchasing an additional 51,082 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,498,000 after purchasing an additional 26,079 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,097,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,805,000 after purchasing an additional 25,186 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Six research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $58.34 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Company 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.