Adirondack Trust Co. Buys 521 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 553 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the quarter. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $34,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. True North Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,132,000. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 18,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 143,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.14.

Kroger Trading Down 0.4 %

KR opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The stock has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.16 and a 200-day moving average of $56.73.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.