Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells 29,554 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,861,803.52. The trade was a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.74. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated 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 repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

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.