Kroger Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 24,264 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 76% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,777 call options.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in Kroger by 20.9% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,139 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 5,853 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Kroger by 20.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 34,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 53.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.