Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

KR has been the topic of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.81.

Kroger Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:KR opened at $64.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $46.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.31. Kroger has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $65.75.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.