Kroger (NYSE:KR) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $63.00. The stock had previously closed at $61.33, but opened at $63.22. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Kroger shares last traded at $63.31, with a volume of 1,634,640 shares changing hands.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth about $315,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 36.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 138,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,939,000 after acquiring an additional 36,903 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 9.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 342,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,092,000 after acquiring an additional 28,992 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 17.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 121,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,056,000 after purchasing an additional 18,356 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 1.9 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.15 and its 200-day moving average is $54.81. The company has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. 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 2.06%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.