FNY Investment Advisers LLC Takes $305,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE KR opened at $59.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on KR shares. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Company 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.