Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Sells $1,040,302.08 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:KR opened at $61.85 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.22.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.43.

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.