Kroger Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 24,260 put options on the company. This is an increase of 100% compared to the typical volume of 12,152 put options.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, reaching $59.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,647,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,628,458. Kroger has a 52-week low of $43.51 and a 52-week high of $61.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $43.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 14.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,269,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,426,000 after buying an additional 281,878 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,037,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,391,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $95,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.64.

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.