Kroger (NYSE:KR) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $66.26 and last traded at $65.93, with a volume of 1164863 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $47.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.33.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is 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.