Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Sells 28,105 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kroger Stock Down 1.7 %

Kroger stock traded down $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.56. The stock had a trading volume of 5,547,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,832,898. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.15. 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 $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.