82,353 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Acquired by Financial Enhancement Group LLC

Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 82,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $74.11. The company has a market cap of $48.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.09 and a 200-day moving average of $65.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 207,793 shares of company stock valued at $14,938,358 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.47.

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.