The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike Sells 5,541 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $67.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.83. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Melius cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI increased 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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.