Burney Co. Increases Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,002 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,923 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on KR shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Down 2.0 %

KR stock traded down $1.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.74. 4,751,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,016,091. 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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day moving average is $56.44. The firm has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business'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 owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.