Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target Raised to $69.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $59.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Kroger Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $59.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.61. Kroger has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $61.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % 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 valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.