The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.28 Per Share

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 27th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 1.28 per share on Sunday, September 1st. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.38%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Kroger has raised its dividend by an average of 17.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. Kroger has a dividend payout ratio of 25.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Kroger to earn $4.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.1%.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE KR traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.31. 3,095,463 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,237,021. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.86. Kroger has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $35.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43. 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 (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. 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. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.