Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Kroger (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 18,583 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,639 call options.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $50.43 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.93 and its 200 day moving average is $51.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.15%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, 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 transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value 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 $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised 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 valued at $660,653,000 after acquiring an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,546,000 after acquiring an additional 503,839 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,739,000 after purchasing an additional 118,209 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.