StockNews.com Downgrades Kroger (NYSE:KR) to Buy

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KR. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.74 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.28 and a 200-day moving average of $56.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $817,000. Joule Financial LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 10,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Walker Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 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.