The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Valerie L. Jabbar Sells 15,000 Shares

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.99. 1,799,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,923,953. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.05.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after buying an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,715,000 after buying an additional 11,707 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Kroger by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after buying an additional 38,119 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Kroger by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,175,000 after buying an additional 115,264 shares during 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.