Kroger (NYSE:KR) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Telsey Advisory Group

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective raised by Telsey Advisory Group from $62.00 to $65.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

KR has been the subject of several other reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.55.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Kroger stock opened at $60.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Kroger has a 52 week low of $42.97 and a 52 week high of $61.18. The company has a market capitalization of $43.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.33.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.