The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Valerie L. Jabbar Sells 31,271 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $71.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $71.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.76. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. 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 1.80%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.