Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $65.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its target price raised by Telsey Advisory Group from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.55.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $61.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a one year low of $42.97 and a one year high of $61.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.41.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kroger will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.