M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Makes New $241,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 7,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $817,000. Joule Financial LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 10,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5 %

KR opened at $58.34 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.57. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger 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 $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

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.