The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Kroger Trading Down 1.9 %
KR traded down $1.32 on Friday, hitting $70.03. The company had a trading volume of 8,847,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,531,526. The company's fifty day moving average price is $66.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.31. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Kroger Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 220.9% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 179,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $566,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,176 shares of the company's stock worth $3,391,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.
Read Our Latest Research Report on KR
About Kroger
(
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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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