The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells $1,693,450.98 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.54. 1,554,407 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,883,595. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim raised 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. Evercore ISI cut 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 restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. W Advisors LLC increased its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Kroger by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 65,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is 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.