The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells $1,693,450.98 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, hitting $55.54. 1,554,407 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,883,595. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company Profile

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.