Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 8,043,115 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 228% from the previous session’s volume of 2,452,587 shares.The stock last traded at $61.90 and had previously closed at $61.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.79.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.95. The company has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 202,370 shares of company stock worth $12,530,170 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.