The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Sells $86,723.00 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:KR traded up $1.23 on Monday, hitting $66.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,555,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,819,866. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.74 and its 200 day moving average is $59.52. The company has a market cap of $47.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $566,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,210,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.