OLIO Financial Planning Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OLIO Financial Planning purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.68 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a market cap 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.