Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Grows Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,477 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,455 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for 2.0% of Buck Wealth Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Melius upgraded Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.11.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,865,706. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $71.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.17% and a net margin of 1.81%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.