Brokerages Set The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Target Price at $63.33

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.31.

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,821 shares of company stock worth $3,445,490. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Kroger by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 36.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 138,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,939,000 after buying an additional 36,903 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, PGGM Investments purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:KR opened at $62.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.15 and a 200 day moving average of $54.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Kroger has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.