Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Guggenheim from $73.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.80% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.21.

Kroger Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:KR traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $73.72. 2,446,107 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,214,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.27. Kroger has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $74.11. The company has a market cap of $48.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 82,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,865,706 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. IFC Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.