Short Interest in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Increases By 307.0%

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 48,590,000 shares, a growth of 307.0% from the December 15th total of 11,940,000 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Six 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.74. 4,719,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,016,091. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.28 and a 200 day moving average of $56.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.