The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike Sells 3,929 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE KR opened at $55.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.24 and its 200-day moving average is $48.24. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,546,000 after buying an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by 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.