Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $17.55 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 287,064 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,764 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $17,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.72.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.14.

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.