Short Interest in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Declines By 7.4%

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 43,350,000 shares, a decline of 7.4% from the January 15th total of 46,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.8 days. Currently, 6.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3 %

KR stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,931,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,199,646. The stock has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.95. Kroger has a 12 month low of $46.96 and a 12 month high of $66.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

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.