Kroger (NYSE:KR) Downgraded to Market Perform Rating by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $60.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.64.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3 %

KR stock opened at $59.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Kroger has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $61.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.58 and a 200 day moving average of $54.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd 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. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Kroger by 698.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,307 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.