Kroger (NYSE:KR) Hits New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.78.

The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday. Bank of America raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,060,000 after purchasing an additional 120,250 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $598,390,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 3.6 %

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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, 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.