JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $60.49 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.04. 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 market cap of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. Kroger has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during 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.