Kroger (NYSE:KR) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.79.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:KR opened at $61.15 on Monday. Kroger has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 202,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,530,170 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.