Park National Corp OH Purchases 775 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Park National Corp OH raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,343 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Kroger in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $58.84 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.