The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) CFO Todd A. Foley Sells 16,932 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.85. The stock had a trading volume of 38,429,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,881,797. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.13. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company's stock worth $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.6% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the company's stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 14.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,269,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,426,000 after acquiring an additional 281,878 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at $4,037,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Kroger by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,797 shares of the company's stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 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.