Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,746 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Kroger by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Kroger by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 45,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Kroger by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

KR stock opened at $59.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.30. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.