The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms Buy Rating for Kroger (NYSE:KR)

Kroger (NYSE:KR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $70.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.09% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KR. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.06.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.56 and a 200-day moving average of $57.25. Kroger has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $65.64. The company has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 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.