The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,320,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the November 30th total of 22,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.3% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 502,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,466,000 after purchasing an additional 34,000 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 8.2% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 23.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,183,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,716,000 after purchasing an additional 412,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.98% of the company’s stock.
Kroger Stock Performance
KR traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,563,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,641,626. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $50.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $44.54 and its 200-day moving average is $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.45.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.90 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.22% and a net margin of 1.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Kroger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Kroger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 1st. TheStreet raised Kroger from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. HSBC assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.27.
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.