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

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 18,583 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 12,639 call options.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $50.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.02. The company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. Kroger has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.