Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $1,113,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $10,336,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $58.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.53. 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 fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Kroger

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.