The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,317 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,044 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Kroger were worth $8,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in 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 period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.74. The company had a trading volume of 4,751,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,020,437. The company has a market capitalization of $42.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% 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.