Kroger Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 14,890 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 23% compared to the average daily volume of 12,123 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.80.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.3% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Kroger by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,279,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $127,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 6.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 135,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,715 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE KR traded up $1.56 on Monday, hitting $63.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,434,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,164,776. The firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.43 and its 200 day moving average is $57.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $64.10.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

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.