The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives $63.33 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.31.

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $62.08 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.81. Kroger has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. 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.