The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Cairn Investment Group Inc.

Cairn Investment Group Inc. cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up approximately 2.1% of Cairn Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cairn Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $61.13 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

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.