12,860 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 7,597 shares of the company's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 122.0% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 10,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 5,536 shares during the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in Kroger by 12.0% in the first quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 15,015 shares of the company's stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,209 shares of the company's stock worth $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.06.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,815 shares of company stock valued at $11,101,588. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.12 on Thursday, reaching $64.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,304,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,767,990. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.91.

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.