Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $50.76 on Tuesday. Kroger has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.