Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $71.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective raised by Guggenheim from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on KR. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.46. Kroger has a 12 month low of $44.49 and a 12 month high of $65.75. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.