Morgan Stanley Raises Kroger (NYSE:KR) Price Target to $65.00

Kroger (NYSE:KR) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $62.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.59% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.14.

Kroger Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $58.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.72. Kroger has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.