Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for Kroger (NYSE:KR) Stock Price

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective boosted by Guggenheim from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius lowered shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.05 on Thursday. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities analysts predict that Kroger will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.