Kroger Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 28,347 call options on the company. This is an increase of 132% compared to the average volume of 12,206 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $1.95 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.34. 1,504,076 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,710,288. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. Kroger has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $59.79.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.