Brian W. Nichols Sells 6,922 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kroger Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $55.22 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.92. The company has a market cap of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.36.

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.