Kroger (NYSE:KR) to Buyback $7.50 billion in Shares

Kroger (NYSE:KR) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:KR traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, hitting $61.32. The stock had a trading volume of 8,721,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,704,496. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.70. Kroger has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $62.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.