Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Kroger (NYSE:KR)

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value 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. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $66.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company 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 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.04 and its 200 day moving average is $60.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.