Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 8,043,115 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 228% from the previous session’s volume of 2,452,587 shares.The stock last traded at $61.90 and had previously closed at $61.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.79.

Kroger Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’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. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 260,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,004,000 after buying an additional 55,868 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,411,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,479,000 after purchasing an additional 15,344 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 8,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 57,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% 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.