Kroger (NYSE:KR) Rating Lowered to Sell at Melius

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was downgraded by research analysts at Melius from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Melius’ price target indicates a potential downside of 14.41% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.39.

Kroger Stock Up 1.6 %

KR stock opened at $67.77 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.52. Kroger has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.