Kroger (NYSE:KR) Hits New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $66.35 and last traded at $66.11, with a volume of 1071826 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.78.

The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger's payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.50.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after purchasing an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $598,390,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 4.7 %

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 of $62.27 and a 200-day moving average of $59.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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.