Avanza Fonder AB Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 68,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,210,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 20.0% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,565 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 5.0% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 27,202 shares of the company's stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 160,512 shares of the company's stock worth $8,014,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $1,536,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $432,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.34. The stock had a trading volume of 5,510,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,451,751. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.53. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS 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 repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % 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 over the last ninety days. 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.