Cvfg LLC Purchases 7,221 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cvfg LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 149.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,056 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,221 shares during the period. Cvfg LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,370.19. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 207,793 shares of company stock valued at $14,938,358 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.47.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $74.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $69.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.43. The company has a market cap of $48.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger 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.

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