The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Sells $224,070.87 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.49 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.24 and a 200-day moving average of $48.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Kroger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Kroger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after acquiring an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Kroger by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,546,000 after acquiring an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Kroger by 7.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after acquiring an additional 511,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

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.