The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,762 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Kroger were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in Kroger by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 137,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,852,000 after acquiring an additional 43,597 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Kroger by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 116,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,653,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Stolper Co lifted its position in Kroger by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Stolper Co now owns 38,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 191.3% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 29,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 19,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $161,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $50.21 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $36.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.75.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.20.

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.