The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Short Interest Update

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 48,590,000 shares, a growth of 307.0% from the December 31st total of 11,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,910,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.9 days. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.46. 3,890,726 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,308,596. The firm has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.91. Kroger has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.