The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives $67.19 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.19.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $64.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a 1 year low of $48.21 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $264,207,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.