Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Buys 176 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,539 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.34 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average of $56.57. The stock has a market cap of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % 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 valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six 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 MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

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.