The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Sells $1,872,355.10 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kroger Trading Down 1.7 %

KR traded down $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.56. 5,547,664 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,832,898. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.15. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $43,000. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 245.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.