Park National Corp OH Buys 2,788 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Park National Corp OH lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,868 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,788 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 613.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

KR traded up $0.94 on Tuesday, hitting $51.99. The company had a trading volume of 5,822,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,962,621. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.61. The company has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.18.

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.