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

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 14,890 call options on the company. This is an increase of 23% compared to the typical volume of 12,123 call options.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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 Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.06.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.19. Kroger has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $64.90. The company has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

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.