SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 216,586 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 71.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 519,039 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 216,586 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.07% of Kroger worth $31,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.14.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.