The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Sells $368,445.04 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $55.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,531,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,866,457. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.24 and a 200 day moving average of $48.29. The stock has a market cap of $39.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, 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. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $42,220,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $39,619,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.