Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $9.85 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,547 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,668 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1858 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $252,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.7% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 19,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $2,498,000. Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.2% during the first quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 162,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,998,000 after purchasing an additional 9,455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Melius upgraded Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.47.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,349.20. This represents a 61.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 207,793 shares of company stock worth $14,938,358 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $72.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.