Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 61.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,652 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,854 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $161,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 16.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 12.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC increased its position in Kroger by 38.9% during the first quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 7,279 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $50.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.67. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $36.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.70.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last quarter. Company 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.