The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Receives $65.79 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.93.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $59.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $42.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.17 and a 200 day moving average of $56.25. Kroger has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Kroger by 110.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after buying an additional 1,643,307 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.