Fiduciary Alliance LLC Makes New $281,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the second 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $12,143,923 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.44. 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 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The company has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.