The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Sells $368,445.04 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.57. 3,702,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,893,778. The company has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. 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 50 day moving average price of $54.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.37.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on KR shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an "underperform" rating and set 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 report on Tuesday, April 16th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 7.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.