Spring Capital Management LLC Buys 1,538 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Spring Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,002 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises 3.0% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

KR stock opened at $58.34 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.25 and its 200 day moving average is $56.48. The firm has a market cap of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.