Brian W. Nichols Sells 1,300 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE KR traded up $1.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $66.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,555,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,819,866. The company has a market capitalization of $47.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 245.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 141.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,130 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,000 after acquiring an additional 6,797 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.