Is Kroger’s Co (KR) Stock Split, Buyback Enough To Make It A Buy?

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Steven Richman’s East Side Capital (RR Partners) had the biggest position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), worth close to $362.4 million along with ownership of 4.73 million shares, corresponding to 11.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is AQR Capital Management, led by Cliff Asness, holding a $136.3 million position with 1.78 million shares; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other members of the smart money that hold long positions consist of John Burbank’s Passport Capital, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management.

Now, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Passport Capital, managed by John Burbank, created the biggest new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the first quarter. Passport Capital had 64.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter with 839,643 shares. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also made a $30.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter along with an ownership of 402,484 shares of the company. The other funds with brand new KR positions are Gabriel Plotkin’s Melvin Capital Management, David E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

Hedge fund managers have a bullish sentiment for the shares of Kroger and the company has displayed strong financial footing for the past several quarters. We believe the stock is likely to outperform in the near future.

Disclosure: None