The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Sells $298,852.76 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $64.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $63.24 and a 200 day moving average of $59.78. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.