Board of the Pension Protection Fund Acquires New Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000. Kroger comprises 1.3% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $914,795,000 after buying an additional 126,303 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company's stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.74. 4,751,393 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,020,437. The company has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $60.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.44.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business'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. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.