Kroger (NYSE:KR) Shares Down 2.5%

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) were down 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $51.67 and last traded at $51.90. Approximately 1,842,790 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 5,016,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Kroger by 698.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kroger

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.