Palmer Knight Co Grows Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Palmer Knight Co increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up 2.9% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Seven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $61.13 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.