The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Kenneth C. Kimball Sells 11,000 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $65.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.48 and its 200 day moving average is $60.04. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.