Carin L. Fike Sells 16,475 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded down $0.88 on Tuesday, hitting $73.12. 4,268,259 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,856,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business's fifty day moving average is $68.98 and its 200 day moving average is $65.37. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,207,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $178,385,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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