BMO Capital Markets Downgrades Kroger (NYSE:KR) to Market Perform

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was downgraded by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 0.10% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on KR. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.64.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Kroger has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $61.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% 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.