KBC Group NV Purchases 9,804 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 398,448 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,804 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Kroger were worth $24,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted 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. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $60.46 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.21 and its 200 day moving average is $56.91. 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 firm has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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 firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KR. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

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.