Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 8,043,115 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 228% from the previous session’s volume of 2,452,587 shares.The stock last traded at $61.90 and had previously closed at $61.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.79.

Kroger Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 202,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,530,170. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% 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.