Kroger (NYSE:KR) Coverage Initiated at BNP Paribas

Analysts at BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective indicates a potential downside of 0.94% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $56.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.87. The stock has a market cap of $40.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. Kroger has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.