The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,542 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $60.50 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.