The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike Sells 3,929 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.99. 1,799,247 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,923,953. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $1,112,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Kroger by 275.7% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 102,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,881,000 after buying an additional 75,543 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% 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.