Kroger’s (KR) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Citigroup

Citigroup reissued their neutral rating on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $61.00 price objective on the stock.

KR has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $58.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.17 and a 200-day moving average of $56.83. Kroger has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.