The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells $832,800.00 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.24. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caas Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $306,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 21.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 6,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 7.7% in the first quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC now owns 4,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth $225,000. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 8.3% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 25,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.