The Kroger Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.32 (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 13th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share on Sunday, June 1st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%.

Kroger has raised its dividend payment by an average of 16.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Kroger has a payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Kroger to earn $4.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.1%.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.67 and a 200 day moving average of $59.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kroger stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,733 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.