Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells 31,271 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,160,200.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,600,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,396,978. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Melius cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Signature Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at $218,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 465,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,481,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 15.9% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 19.0% during the first quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.7% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 31,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after buying an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.