Kroger (NYSE:KR) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $73.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $54.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on KR. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.64.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $59.97 on Tuesday. Kroger has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $61.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.