Childress Capital Advisors LLC Invests $216,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,865,706. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $71.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.27. The company has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Melius raised Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Melius Research raised Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.11.

Kroger 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.