Carin L. Fike Sells 4,492 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

KR stock opened at $65.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.74. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is 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.