Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Rating Lowered by Melius Research

Kroger (NYSE:KR) was downgraded by Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Melius downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.39.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.65. Kroger has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

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.