The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley Sells 28,105 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.25. 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 cap of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.