Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,425 shares during the quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 398,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,365,000 after purchasing an additional 9,804 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 50,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. OLIO Financial Planning purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

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 shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim began coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $58.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.83. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

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.