Traders Buy High Volume of Kroger Call Options (NYSE:KR)

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 18,583 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average daily volume of 12,639 call options.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.7 %

KR opened at $50.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 39.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.30.

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.