Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells 15,959 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.61. 1,996,016 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,825,584. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.13 and its 200 day moving average is $59.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Kroger by 17.8% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 4.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth $249,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Kroger by 49.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 24,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 7,989 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 5.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America upped 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.