Kroger (NYSE:KR) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Melius

Melius downgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Melius currently has $58.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.39.

Kroger Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $68.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.60. The company has a market capitalization of $49.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This trade represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. 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.