Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sets New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $66.35 and last traded at $66.11, with a volume of 1071826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.78.

The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on KR shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $264,207,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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.