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

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Guggenheim from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.87% from the stock’s previous close.

KR has been the topic of several other reports. Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $67.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. Kroger has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after purchasing an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,060,000 after purchasing an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $598,390,000. 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.