The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.88.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $64.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.12. Kroger has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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.