Courier Capital LLC Trims Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Courier Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,683 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in Kroger by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 19,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $59.54 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.37. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.