Roth Mkm Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Roth Mkm from $52.00 to $56.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Roth Mkm’s price target points to a potential downside of 5.45% from the stock’s current price.

KR has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut 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 target price on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $59.23 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.61. Kroger has a twelve month low of $43.51 and a twelve month high of $61.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.