Kroger (NYSE:KR) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Kroger (NYSE:KR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.18% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.79.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $61.85 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.22. Kroger has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59.

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

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,530,170 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.