Christine S. Wheatley Sells 30,000 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 127,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,870,057.28. This trade represents a 19.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $66.40. The stock had a trading volume of 11,564,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,294,449. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.88. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $71.93. 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 $48.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

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.