Kroger Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• On Tuesday, investors purchased a significant volume of Kroger call options, with 25,367 options traded, marking a 100% increase compared to the average volume.
• Several analysts have rated Kroger as a "Buy," with price targets ranging from $70.00 to $83.00, reflecting positive market sentiment towards the stock.
• Kroger recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, up from $0.32, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 25,367 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof100% compared to the average volume of 12,706 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the firm'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 owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock worth $967,863,000 after purchasing an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $518,267,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company's stock worth $389,156,000 after purchasing an additional 865,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock worth $342,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,477 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.58.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.74. 5,575,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,407,211. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. Kroger has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.Kroger's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. Research analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

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.