The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Stuart Aitken Sells 132,627 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $62.03 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.07 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.98.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Kroger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.