The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives $65.79 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.93.

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Kroger Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.11. Kroger has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.