Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price Up 4.8% on Strong Earnings

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $65.87 and last traded at $65.56. Approximately 1,365,532 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 5,463,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.53.

The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $46.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG 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.