The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Kroger Trading Down 1.7 %
NYSE KR opened at $66.56 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, 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 quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $62.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.25.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.
Institutional Trading of Kroger
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.88.
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About Kroger
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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.
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