Timothy A. Massa Sells 29,554 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.70.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.