The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
Kroger Stock Up 0.9 %
Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $72.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.03. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. 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 has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Kroger Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.
Institutional Trading of Kroger
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Park Capital Management LLC WI grew its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the first quarter. Park Capital Management LLC WI now owns 16,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $311,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 14.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 145,547 shares of the company's stock worth $9,852,000 after acquiring an additional 18,668 shares in the last quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in Kroger by 4.7% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 19,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Melius Research lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on KR
Kroger Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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