Kroger (NYSE:KR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Guggenheim

Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.94% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on KR. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.43.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $61.85 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.84 and its 200-day moving average is $55.20. The company has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. Kroger has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 205,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,697,900. 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 KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 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.